


now it's do or die

by gravitropism



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Chanyeol's POV, Fluff, M/M, Sex by a Fireplace, Skiing, Vacation, wow chansoo are so cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 06:53:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12859170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gravitropism/pseuds/gravitropism
Summary: It’s said that if you want to see if your relationship will last, go on a vacation together.





	now it's do or die

**Author's Note:**

> happy birthday max! ur the best and i love u and thanks for letting me stay at ur house this summer i'll never forget it :) i miss u so much bb :)
> 
> You wanted fluffy chansoo going skiing together? That's what you're getting. Have I ever done anything halfway? Yes, yes I have but we're going to ignore those times because you're getting full on fluffy chansoo. Sex by fireplace? Sex by fireplace.
> 
> Fair warning, I've never been skiing before, but it's fine. Title from some Illenium song; I don't know which one because they all sound the same.
> 
> Enjoy!!

The hills whip by, getting taller and taller as they go. There’s snow on the ground, fairly typical for December, and outside their car the temperatures threaten to hit negatives.

“I still can’t believe you’ve never been skiing,” Chanyeol sniffs. “It’s like, an integral part of my existence.”

Kyungsoo flicks the turn signal on, and speeds up, passing the large truck in front of them. “I think it’s fairly normal to never have gone skiing,” he says. Without the truck in the way, they have a beautiful view of the mountains up ahead.

This time of year, everything seems like it’s a black-and-white photograph: the white of the snow contrasts heavily with the dark, wet bark of the trees. The only color comes from the occasional exposed rock where it had been blasted apart to make way for the highway, and even less-frequent glimpses of wildlife. Chanyeol brings his phone up to snap a picture. It won’t turn out perfectly, since they’re in the car, but he still wants to immortalize the view.

Kyungsoo’s car is a tiny thing, better suited for city driving than trips into the mountains, but it manages to hold all of their gear for the weekend. Which is actually rather impressive, considering the sheer amount of winter wear that Chanyeol had insisted they bring.

“We live in Denver, the mountains are an hour away, maximum,” Chanyeol says, flipping through the pictures he’s taken so far. “I didn’t think there was anyone who hadn’t been skiing.”

Sighing, Kyungsoo straightens in his seat, and grips the wheel with both hands. “Listen. When I moved from L.A. three years ago, skiing wasn’t really my priority. I guess I just never got around to it.”

“Never got around to it?” Chanyeol marvels. “There’s almost nothing else to do here.” Which isn’t quite true, but honestly what else would you do? Chanyeol has been skiing and snowboarding since he could walk.

Their car shoots into a tunnel, and with the cloud-darkened sky outside and the lights inside, it really seems like it is night. Speaking of which. Chanyeol presses on the weather app on his phone. It’s supposed to snow tonight, which means peak conditions tomorrow.

“You know how I feel about snow,” Kyungsoo mutters. “There’s just so much of it.”

Chanyeol lets out a peal of laughter, and he can tell the noise is almost too much for Kyungsoo, trapped in his tiny car, with the snow muffling everything outside. “That’s the point, you know. The more snow, the more fun.”

“That’s not a correlation that I’m inclined to make,” Kyungsoo says, but seems to play along with it anyway. “How far are we from the place, now?”

“It’s called a lodge,” Chanyeol reminds him, “and we’re about twenty minutes away.” He’s been to this one enough times that he doesn’t need a map to take him there. When his family used to take day trips together, or when he goes with some of his friends, they usually go to a closer facility, but since this is his first trip with his boyfriend, the two of them will be staying over a few nights.

“Good,” Kyungsoo replies. “Where do I turn, again?”

“When get closer I’ll point it out, don’t worry,” Chanyeol says absentmindedly. He’s staring out the window again; the view is just too good to pass up. On one side, there’s a nearly sheer cliff, and on the other, there’s a drop-off, the road contained by a plain metal rail. The valley below is covered in snow, and as they drive by, he can see the beginnings of the ski hills come into view.

“Alright,” Kyungsoo says begrudgingly. “Can you check my phone, though? I was texting my mom about something earlier.”

Chanyeol lifts his phone out of the cup holder, and unlocks it. Kyungsoo gave him his passcode a month ago along with a shrug and an “I have nothing to hide anyway. Just don’t go through my work emails, please.” He pulls up the texting application, and yup, there’s a message from Kyungsoo’s mother.

“You should bring your boyfriend with you for Christmas,” he reads, grinning. He met Kyungsoo’s mother in L.A. back at Kyungsoo’s brother’s wedding a while ago, and they had gotten along well. Kyungsoo’s frantic expression upon finding them sitting at a table chatting is seared in his memory forever.

Kyungsoo rubs a hand over his face, and sighs. “I told her we were going on a short vacation together and she started saying things like that. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, really,” he says, glancing over.

Chanyeol hums. “I’m sure my mother won’t mind. If you want me to go, I’ll go.” He doesn’t want to put Kyungsoo on the spot. It would be nice, though, to see her again. Kyungsoo has been over to the Park family residence quite a few times now for dinner, and Chanyeol’s parents love him.

“She’s just going to start talking about marriage again,” Kyungsoo warns. His fingers tap on the steering wheel, and Chanyeol can tell from his stiff posture that he’s a little nervous.

“I don’t mind,” Chanyeol says. “I know we’re not ready for that at this stage in our relationship. What do you want me to tell her?” He wiggles Kyungsoo’s phone in his direction.

“Tell her that I’ll have to ask you about your plans,” Kyungsoo says, eyes flitting around the road. “I still need to decide myself. Do we have to turn anywhere near here?”

“About five more minutes,” Chanyeol says, fingers busy typing. “Oh, hey, your battery is getting low. I’ll plug your phone in?”

“Yes, please.”

Finished, Chanyeol locks Kyungsoo’s phone again, and sets in back in the cup holder, this time upside-down, and plugs it in. He checks his own phone, which is also getting low. “Did I remember to bring my phone cord?” he wonders out loud, patting the pocket of his sweatshirt.

Kyungsoo glances over at him. “Chanyeol Park, I swear to god--”

“Just kidding!” Chanyeol practically shouts, remembering. “It’s in my bag!” He reaches into his backpack (which is sitting between his legs), and with a little difficulty, tugs the cord out. “Right here, see?”

“You make me nervous sometimes,” Kyungsoo groans. “Please never do this again.”

Chanyeol shrugs, and plugs the charger in next to Kyungsoo’s. “Hey, it’s just how I am.”

\--

They pull into the parking lot about ten minutes later. Thankfully, it’s mostly cleared, though if it snows again tonight, Chanyeol isn’t sure what they’ll do. At least Kyungsoo has a brush in his car in case it gets really heavy.

The snow crunches under the tires. Kyungsoo swings into a spot close to the entrance (Chanyeol assumes they’ll have to move the car later), and fiddles around with the stereo settings a little before finally turning off the car.

“This looks almost exactly like I expected it to,” he says, looking up at the lodge. “Wood and everything.”

“It’s a very specific aesthetic,” Chanyeol says, slipping on a beanie before cracking the car door open. It’s absolutely frigid out, and he thinks he’ll have to grab his heavy jacket from the back, even though they’re just going to check in. “Hurry up, it’s freezing out here.”

“Literally,” Kyungsoo says, also climbing out of the car. His breath puffs out in little clouds, and he shivers. “We should hurry, I want to get a good table for dinner.”

Shrugging on his big winter coat, Chanyeol nods. “We should move our stuff first, though. Otherwise it’ll get chilly, and I want to wear warm pajamas tonight.”

“Are we really going straight to bed?” Kyungsoo asks, an eyebrow raised. “I would think you would want to do something first.” He tugs on his own coat, and wraps a scarf around his neck. Chanyeol thinks he looks cute, like a little penguin, but he won’t say that to Kyungsoo.

Chanyeol gestures to the already-darkening sky. “We could try, but honestly, unless you want to get drunk, there’s not a lot to do. There should be a TV, though. We could watch a movie.”

Kyungsoo hums in reply, and grabs his wallet from the center console. “We’ll see what’s on. Alright, keys, wallet, information. Let’s go in.”

They walk towards the front entrance, sidestepping the larger piles of slush. The lodge itself is a massive, hulking thing, made of dark wood with a few newer-looking concrete and glass sections. It’s one of Chanyeol’s favorites, ski hills set aside, and he’s looking forward to staying again.

The inside of the lobby is warm, or at least as warm as it can get when it’s bitterly cold outside. Chanyeol follows Kyungsoo to the front desk, all the while taking in the decorations. As it’s getting close to Christmas, the lodge has gone full out and decked the place all up in greenery and fake snow. Like there wasn’t enough of the real stuff outside.

“I have reservation?” Kyungsoo says to the girl behind the counter, capturing Chanyeol’s attention again.

“Sure, do you have a printout of the reservation ticket?” she asks, clicking on something at her computer. The desk itself is also made of some sort of dark-ish wood, the stain cracked in a few places. Chanyeol runs his hands over the counter, feeling the grain.

Kyungsoo offers her the folded piece of paper that Chanyeol had printed this morning. “It should be for a room with one bed.”

She takes the paper and looks it over, then types something into her computer. “Yep, this looks right. Can I see some form of ID, and a method of payment?”

Chanyeol scrambles for his own wallet, tucked into his pants. “The reservation is under my name, sorry,” he says, pulling out his own driver’s license and credit card.

“Yeol, I can pay--”

“Nooo, I dragged you here, so I’m paying. If we end up going to L.A. you can pay for the hotel there,” Chanyeol bargains.

Kyungsoo looks at him, eyebrows raised. “Okay, go ahead, then.”

The girl takes his license and card, and begins typing. Chanyeol leans against the counter. He’s getting a little hot in his coat, but if they’re just going to have to go outside again in a moment, he doesn’t want to take it off.

“It’s nice in here, gives off a certain atmosphere,” Kyungsoo comments, turning in a slow circle. The ceiling is high and vaulted, and there’s a lounge across the room with a decently large fireplace. “I mean, a little cliché, but sometimes cliché is nice”

“Don’t mock ski lodge culture,” Chanyeol chastises him. “We take our fireplaces very seriously.”

“Which is why we have a fire place in quite a few of our rooms,” the receptionist says, smiling. “A staff member has to come light the fire, of course.”

“That still seems like it would break fire codes, but okay,” Kyungsoo says, and crosses his arms. He joins Chanyeol in leaning against the counter. “I guess I’m not your average skier.”

“Well, I’m all done here, so if you could just sign, I’ll give you your room keys...?”

Chanyeol nods and takes the pen that she offers him, and signs on the dotted line. He hands the paper back, and in exchange she passes over two keycards.

“I have you in room 218, so that will be on the second floor, in the left wing,” she says, pointing to the left side of the room. “Skiing opens up at 7am tomorrow, there is a pool on the first floor and hot tubs nearby, we of course have our restaurant and bar but there are a few others in area. Just call into the front desk if you need help with anything, including the fireplaces. There should be instructions next to the phone!”

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo says, taking the cards. “Is the restaurant open now?”

“Yep! It’s open from 11-2 and 5-10 daily. If you’re hungry at other times, we have a cafe, and breakfast is served here in the lounge. We also have hot chocolate and s’mores here past 8pm, as well,” she finishes, and passes them a piece of paper outlining various activities. “And, are you two a couple?”

This is exactly the sort of situation that Chanyeol likes to avoid. He bites his inner cheek, and his fingernails bite into the palms of his hands.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo says calmly, much more calmly than Chanyeol could have. Why do people have to do this?

“I just wanted to say that you look so cute together!” she says, smiling happily. “Have a nice stay!”

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo replies, in the same strangely calm tone of voice. He grabs Chanyeol’s arm and tugs him away from the desk and back outside.

It’s a little darker now, but still just as cold. “I fucking hate when they do that,” Chanyeol says. “I don’t exist to make you feel better about yourself.” He can’t tell if his elevated heartbeat is due to anger or something else.

“I know,” Kyungsoo says simply, leading him back to the car. They’ve been over this before. “It makes me mad, too, but I’m not going to make a scene because she’s trying to be ‘accepting.’ Hopefully she won’t be working when we check out.”

“Yeah.”

Kyungsoo unlocks the car doors, and Chanyeol begins taking things out, starting with his snowboard, and ending with their stacked suitcases. He and Kyungsoo each have a backpack, as well. It might be a short vacation, but Chanyeol has so much gear that he really does need his bigger suitcase.

The physical work puts the thought of the receptionist out of his mind. Together, they haul their suitcases through the parking lot, up the stairs on the end of the building (not the stairs in the lounge, thank god), and into their hotel room.

“How much are we paying for this?” Kyungsoo asks, setting his suitcase down at the end of the bed. “Do I want to know?”

The walls are all made of pine, and there is indeed a fireplace on one wall. Chanyeol drops his stuff on the ground, and removes his coat. He’s a little sweaty now, but that’s fine. “Not as much as you’d think,” he says, flopping down on the bed and immediately putting his hands behind his head. Kyungsoo follows, kneeling. “The real rip-off comes when they rent you the gear. If you like it, and want to go again, we can buy you skis and stuff so you don’t have to keep paying for rentals.”

Kyungsoo lies down next to him and snorts. “Why does this sound like the start of an expensive hobby?” He scoots over until he’s pressed up against Chanyeol’s side, and Chanyeol immediately shifts to curl around him.

“It’s not that bad,” Chanyeol protests. “Besides, it’s good exercise, and you’ve said that you want to be doing more of that.”

Slipping an arm underneath Chanyeol’s waist, Kyungsoo grunts. “When I said that, I meant a low-cost gym subscription. Not a hobby that vacuums up all excess money I have.”

“Mmm, but is a gym subscription as fun as the wind whipping by as you sail down a hill? I don’t think so,” Chanyeol says, squeezing Kyungsoo a little just to make him squirm.

“True, but just think of how many dildos you could have bought in place of the price of this place,” Kyungsoo says with a quirk of his eyebrow.

Well. There’s a thought. Chanyeol can feel himself getting a little... excited, so he clears his throat. This isn’t the time. “We should go get dinner now,” he says abruptly. “Wouldn’t want the place to close before we got there.”

Kyungsoo snickers, but peels himself off of Chanyeol anyway, stretching and yawning. “You’re right, we should head down. I sort of want to change into something a little nicer, though.”

Chanyeol looks down at his own sweatshirt and skinny jeans. “Might be a good idea, yeah,” he admits, and he rolls off the bed to go look through his suitcase.

By the time they both finish changing, it’s already 7:30, and Chanyeol hopes there are still tables available. While it is Thursday, the restaurants in these places tend to get crowded quick. Kyungsoo is wearing a dark green sweater that makes him look like an adorable librarian, and Chanyeol takes the opportunity to squish his cheeks together and plant a kiss on him. He only glares at Chanyeol for a few seconds before dragging him down for a proper kiss.

“Don’t leave a man hanging, won’t you?” he mutters, and takes Chanyeol’s hand. He tugs on the hem of the collared shirt Chanyeol has changed into. “This looks nice on you.”

It’s a weird mixture of purple, yellow, green, and brown in thin plaid stripes, but Chanyeol likes it, too. “The colors are weird, but I kind of dig it,” Chanyeol says, tugging Kyungsoo in the direction of the door. Kyungsoo checks his pocket for the keycard and his wallet before they leave, always eager to prove that he is the ‘responsible one’ in their relationship.

The restaurant is on the first floor, overlooking the mountains. They take the stairs down into the lounge and head over, Chanyeol in the lead. It doesn’t look overly crowded, for which he is glad.

“Two, please,” Kyungsoo says quietly to the hostess, and they follow her to a table only one row away from the massive windows. Chanyeol sits down on the side of the table adjacent to Kyungsoo, and immediately picks up his menu.

“Have you ever been to this restaurant?” Kyungsoo asks, slowly looking over his own menu. Chanyeol is glad they took the time to dress up: the tablecloth is white and the table setting is moderately fancy. Had he come down in a sweatshirt, he would have felt a little out of place.

“A few times, though the last time was when I was still in high school,” Chanyeol explains, looking at the soups before deciding he wants something a little heavier. Pasta would be good, seeing as they’ll be doing a lot of exercise tomorrow. “So I don’t remember anything on the menu.”

“Hmm,” Kyungsoo says, tracing a finger down the wine list. “Maybe I’ll get fish.”

“I’m getting pasta,” Chanyeol decides, picking out something with pesto sauce. If his breath smells, Kyungsoo is the one who has to deal with it. “Got to have enough energy for tomorrow.”

Kyungsoo looks up at him, one finger still planted on the creamy paper. “Is that really a thing? Eating carbs the day before exercising?”

Chanyeol shrugs and closes the menu, setting it down. “Maybe? The swimmers in my high school always did it; they would have massive pasta parties a few days before their meets. So I guess it has some validity? I don’t know, I’m not a biologist.”

Huffing, Kyungsoo shuts his own menu. “So then why do you do it?”

“I really like pasta,” Chanyeol says, grinning. “Plus, you’re the one who has to deal with my garlic breath.”

Kyungsoo glares at him for a moment, and then abruptly opens the menu again and starts scanning. “I’m going to find the nastiest smelling thing I can and order it.”

Chanyeol laughs. It doesn’t really bother him, and besides, he has a tiny bottle of mouthwash and some mints somewhere in his backpack if the smell (or taste, he supposes) gets to be too much. But the fact that Kyungsoo puts up with his joking, and that he likes to joke back, is nice compared to some of the other people he’s dated. From the outside, it might look like they’re fighting all of the time, but Kyungsoo never hits him hard, and their playful spats often end in playful sex, so. “If that’s what you want,” he says, curling his ankle around Kyungsoo’s under the table.

“Ugh, I don’t, actually,” Kyungsoo says, wrinkling his nose. “Fish, garlic, _and_ onions? I really don’t want to do that to myself.”

“Thank you, I appreciate it,” Chanyeol smiles. “What are you actually getting?”

“Chicken.” Kyungsoo taps a spot on the menu. He lifts his eyebrows. “Because protein helps build muscle mass, and I’m sure I’ll be doing plenty of that tomorrow.”

“Wow, okay, going to come after me now?” Chanyeol teases, and Kyungsoo kicks him (lightly, though. As time passes they get less and less painful).

Their waiter walks up to the table, notepad in hand. “Are you ready to order?” he asks, and Chanyeol nods.

“Yep. Can I get the pesto?” he says, sitting up a little straighter.

“Certainly. Anything to drink?”

Chanyeol blinks. “Oh, right. Do we want wine, Soo?” He flips to the back of the menu, where the drinks are listed. “I would be fine with just water, but if you want something...”

Kyungsoo shakes his head. “No, I’m doing water.”

“Alright, same here,” Chanyeol agrees, sitting back. He looks around while Kyungsoo clarifies his order. It’s dark now, but he can imagine the view from the window is incredible during the day.

As their waiter leaves, Kyungsoo leans forward. “What are you thinking about?” he asks. “Are you still on what happened at the front desk?”

“Nooo,” Chanyeol says. He’s not, because he’s used to it. “I’m excited to watch you stumble around like a baby penguin tomorrow.” He grins. “You’re gonna be so cute.”

“Oh, my god.” Kyungsoo buries his face in his hands. “Please don’t make fun of me,” comes his voice, a little muffled. “I’ve seriously never skied before.”

Chanyeol leans across to pat his arm. “Don’t worry, I’ll only laugh a little when you fall.”

\--

Dinner goes well. Of course it does, nobody can keep up conversation like Chanyeol and Kyungsoo. Stomachs mostly full, they climb back up the stairs to their room.

Chanyeol flops onto the bed, kicking his legs out a little to get comfortable. Kyungsoo strolls in after him, and rolls his eyes before removing his sweater. His white t-shirt underneath rides up a little, and Chanyeol’s eyes immediately go to the bared skin of his stomach. Kyungsoo isn’t particularly muscular, because he claims that he likes cooking too much to have abs, but Chanyeol can tell that they’re there. And he’s more than happy with that. He’d much rather see Kyungsoo eat than watch him starve himself just for muscle definition.

“What are you looking at?” Kyungsoo asks, one eyebrow quirked. “Do you want something?”

Chanyeol realizes that he’s been staring into space at Kyungsoo’s midsection. “Mmmno.”

“Are you sure?”

“Not really?” Chanyeol says, sitting up. Kyungsoo wanders over until he’s standing next to the bed, and he gives Chanyeol one of his _looks_. “Okay, I might want something,” Chanyeol relents, scooting until he’s sitting on the edge of the bed.

Kyungsoo laughs, his eyes crinkling up in Chanyeol’s favorite smile, the one where he doesn’t care what he looks like. “You’re so obvious,” he chastises, grabbing hold of both Chanyeol’s hands.

“Is that a bad thing?” Chanyeol says almost automatically, not really paying attention to how his mouth is moving. His focus is more on the way Kyungsoo’s eyes glitter in the low lighting of the room.

“Of course not,” Kyungsoo says immediately, and Chanyeol is shaken into awareness. “It’s easier with you, you know. Easier to tell what you’re thinking, and I like it.”

A grin creeps across his face. “Then, can you tell what I’m thinking right now?”

Kyungsoo heaves a sigh, and pushes Chanyeol down onto the bed. Climbing onto the bed himself, he seats himself directly on Chanyeol’s crotch, and looks down at him. “Of course I can. Part of you is thinking about how much you love me, you sap. Probably something gross about how nice my eyes look, or how much you like my smile.”

“How did you know,” Chanyeol grumbles, sneaking his hands onto Kyungsoo’s waist.

Kyungsoo just rolls his eyes. “Because you’re always thinking that. But the other half of you,” he says, his gaze taking on a hard edge, “Is thinking about how much you’d like to fuck.” He rolls his hips, maintaining eye contact, and Chanyeol gasps. “And by feel, I’d say you’d like to fuck very much.”

“Got it in one,” Chanyeol says, voice strained. “But you don’t want to be sore tomorrow.”

Kyungsoo frowns. “You have a point.” He climbs off, and Chanyeol lets out a soft whine, to which Kyungsoo responds with a look. “I didn’t say we weren’t going to do anything.”

“Good.”

Instead, Kyungsoo tugs Chanyeol’s shirt out of his pants. “I don’t think anyone will mind much if my throat is scratchy tomorrow, will they?”

 _Oh._ “Of course not,” Chanyeol manages to squeak out. He’s still not sure how Kyungsoo can go from cute to hot as hell in less than five seconds.

“Great,” Kyungsoo beams at him, then starts undoing the buttons on his shirt, nipping at his skin underneath. Chanyeol moans quietly; Kyungsoo has always had a perchance for biting. “And you’ll be wearing a scarf tomorrow anyway, so I can make all the marks I want.” Chanyeol thinks he maybe looks a little too happy about that, but it feels good, so he’s not really complaining.

Making his way up to Chanyeol’s mouth, Kyungsoo twists a hand into his hair and kisses him filthily. Chanyeol responds in turn, his legs instinctively wrapping around Kyungsoo’s waist. He ruts up, already desperate for something, and Kyungsoo chuckles darkly.

“You like the biting, admit it.”

Chanyeol huffs, and brings Kyungsoo back in for a kiss. If he acknowledges it, Kyungsoo will have an excuse to do it more often, and he has a job to keep, dammit. He can’t just go around with massive hickeys all up and down his neck.

“Come on, admit it, already,” Kyungsoo breathes between kisses. “I know you do.”

Ugh. “I like it,” Chanyeol says, and Kyungsoo makes a satisfied noise, “But you need to not do it when I have work the next day.”

It’s Kyungsoo’s turn to make a frustrated noise. “That’s what a scarf is for. Or button up the top button of your shirt.”

“That would work if you weren’t a damn octopus,” Chanyeol complains, tugging at Kyungsoo’s t-shirt. He wants it off now, and then if Kyungsoo could get to sucking him off, that would be great. “Seriously, this isn’t normal.”

Kyungsoo’s response to that is to grind down extra hard. “You’ll come around eventually,” he says, and Chanyeol feels like he should be the one rolling his eyes, now. “But in the meantime, I guess I’ll just stick to your thighs.” He sits back, jostling Chanyeol’s legs to loosen their grip, and undoes his belt and pants with nearly frantic fingers. Chanyeol whimpers, and shoves his thumb into his mouth and bites down. He’s getting harder by the minute, and if Kyungsoo doesn’t do something right this second, he thinks he’s going to scream.

“Fuck, Soo, come on,” he complains, and Kyungsoo just tugs his pants down. He pushes at Chanyeol’s legs, and Chanyeol complies by spreading them, allowing Kyungsoo to slide them completely off his legs.

“So long and beautiful,” Kyungsoo mutters, running his fingertips up from Chanyeol’s knees. “I’m so damn lucky to have you.” Hunkering down, he mouths at Chanyeol’s inner thighs. Chanyeol knows his cheeks are red by now, and his dick is starting to leak. He wouldn’t be surprised to find a wet spot forming in his underwear.

“I think I’m luckier,” Chanyeol whispers, and Kyungsoo responds by sinking his teeth into his thigh. His back arches, and he cries out, both hands going to Kyungsoo’s hair. He pulls, and Kyungsoo laps over the new bite mark. It might chafe a little tomorrow, but it’s so worth it.

“You want me to suck you off, right?” Kyungsoo questions, pulling off his underwear then taking ahold of Chanyeol’s cock and stroking.

Chanyeol nods frantically. “Yes, please.” He sits up briefly to shrug his shirt off his shoulders, and Kyungsoo takes that opportunity to kiss him again. They hover in space like that, lost in the moment, for probably longer than Chanyeol realizes.

But of course they’re both hungry for more, so Kyungsoo pushes him back, kissing back down his body and to his dick, where he slowly sinks his mouth down. Chanyeol stuffs a knuckle in his mouth and uses his free hand to cup the back of Kyungsoo’s head. Kyungsoo is really one of the best at this, and he’s only continued to improve at making Chanyeol feel good the longer they have been dating. The first few times were a little weird, as they had yet to fall into their usual dynamic, but now, Kyungsoo knows Chanyeol’s body better than anyone.

Kyungsoo bobs his head slowly, and Chanyeol relishes in his care, surprising himself with his patience for once. With his head propped up on a pillow, he can meet Kyungsoo’s eyes, and he watches as Kyungsoo sneaks a hand down to touch himself over his pants. It’s still as hot as the first time he did it, and it’s remarkably gratifying, knowing that Kyungsoo gets off on this just as much as him.

“Fuck,” Chanyeol hisses after Kyungsoo does something special with his tongue. “God, Soo, just like that,” he groans, giving in to the temptation to thrust up, but only a little.

Kyungsoo won’t have any of that, though, and he loops his arms around Chanyeol’s legs to link his fingers together across his groin, effectively stopping him from moving. Chanyeol is sensitive around there, though, and the pressure just makes him more desperate.

“Come up here,” he says, and Kyungsoo pulls off, saliva trailing from his chin. He wipes it away with the back of one hand, and Chanyeol grabs the collar of his t-shirt and tugs.

Kyungsoo laughs quietly but crawls up anyway, and they kiss while Chanyeol scrabbles at his belt and pants. He manages to get them halfway down Kyungsoo’s thighs before he gives up, and wraps a hand around both of their cocks anyway. Kyungsoo shudders, and their kiss becomes more heated. A hand grips Chanyeol’s hair at the base of his head, and pulls back to expose his neck. And of course Kyungsoo starts nipping at the tendons in his neck, tiny bites that set Chanyeol’s senses on fire.

He speeds his hand up, and Kyungsoo starts grinding into him. It’s cold outside, but it’s hot in their room, and Chanyeol imagines he could see the steam rising off their bodies.

“Hang on,” Kyungsoo pants, and he sits up just long enough to drag his shirt off, before knocking Chanyeol’s hand off and replacing it with his own. Chanyeol whimpers, and he only lasts a few more seconds before he’s spilling all over his stomach. Kyungsoo watches his face like it is best thing he’s ever seen, and comes himself just a few seconds later. He collapses on the bed right next to Chanyeol, and they lie there panting.

“You’re amazing,” Chanyeol whispers, before he can stop himself. Kyungsoo just kisses his shoulder and clings on a little tighter. They stay like that until Chanyeol starts to shiver, and Kyungsoo drags him up to go take a shower.

They fall into bed together, Kyungsoo’s hair still dripping because he refuses to dry it. Chanyeol doesn’t mind; he has an armful of warm boyfriend, and for now, that’s all he needs.

\--

The alarm that Chanyeol set last night wakes him up. He stretches to turn it off, hitting the silence button then unlocking his phone to check his messages. There’s one from his mom, wishing him a good trip, and one from Baekhyun telling him to skip the skiing and just have sex instead. He laughs quietly, and tells Baekhyun that while that’s a good idea, he can just do that at home, so he might as well ski while he’s here.

As he’s typing a reply to his mother, Kyungsoo stirs, murmuring in his sleep and rubbing his face against Chanyeol’s chest. It’s the cutest thing, really, and Chanyeol can’t help but kiss the top of his head.

“Hmm,” comes Kyungsoo’s voice. Chanyeol watches as he blinks slowly and tightens his arms around Chanyeol’s waist. “Why are you awake?”

“Breakfast, and then skiing,” Chanyeol says quietly, trying wake him up slowly. “It’s better to start early, and there’s a beginner’s class at ten.”

“Nooo,” Kyungsoo says, burrowing his face further into the blankets. “It’s cold out. And it’s still dark.”

He’s not lying; it will be cold, but that’s what all of the heavy coats are for. “But breakfast, Soo,” he says, rubbing his back, “And once you start moving you’ll get warmer. Sometimes I even take my jacket off.”

“Nope,” Kyungsoo grunts, fully putting his head under the covers. “It’s cold, and I’m not moving.”

Chanyeol has anticipated this. “Ten more minutes, and then we need to get moving.”

“...Fine,” Kyungsoo reluctantly agrees. He noses his way out and kisses Chanyeol, mouth carefully closed to eliminate any morning breath issues. Chanyeol doesn’t blame him, his mouth literally tastes like something died inside it.

They stay in bed until Chanyeol’s second alarm goes off, and Chanyeol rolls out of bed. “Goddamn, I knew it would be cold,” Kyungsoo says, rubbing his eyes. He’s only in a t-shirt and boxers, and he’s using one of his thumbs to rub at a knot in his waist.

Chanyeol ambles over to drape himself over Kyungsoo, in hopes of warming him up a little. “You know, for all of your protesting, you really are adorable,” he hums, and Kyungsoo wriggles a little.

“You need to stop saying shit like that,” Kyungsoo grumbles. But he does hug back, and that’s all that matters for Chanyeol.

He detaches himself (not without some reluctant muttering from Kyungsoo), and starts digging through his suitcase for his thermals. “Get dressed, you’ll be warmer,” Chanyeol says over his shoulder in Kyungsoo’s direction. “Remember, layers, like I told you.”

“But I put on the stretchy stuff over my underwear, right?” Kyungsoo asks, unzipping his own suitcase. “I really don’t want to do it the other way.”

Chanyeol stands to strip off his own t-shirt and sweats. “Well, yeah, unless you want to go commando or something. And it doesn’t really matter, but I’d recommend changing into tighter underwear. It helps prevent chafing, and it’s usually more comfortable.” Kyungsoo nods in assent, and Chanyeol focuses on slipping on his thermal pants and shirt. The fabric clings to his body in a pleasant way, and he’s glad he managed to find a company that makes clothing that fits him correctly. “Oh! Don’t forget the sunscreen after you wash your face.”

Kyungsoo is standing facing away from him, thermal pants already on. He’s in the middle of turning his shirt right-side out. “Right, because of the sun reflecting up from the snow. Thanks for reminding me.”

Chanyeol is transfixed by the sight of Kyungsoo’s ass in form-fitting pants. It’s not like he’s never worn skinny jeans before, but there’s really nothing like clingy material to accentuate what is already there. So of course Chanyeol decides to creep up on him and touch the butt.

Kyungsoo yelps, and whirls around. “What!”

“Sorry!” Chanyeol winces, holding his hands up to defend himself from any incoming blows. “Your ass looks really nice in those.”

“That doesn’t mean you need to scare the shit out of me by touching my butt!”

“You can touch mine!”

Laughing quietly, Kyungsoo smacks his shoulder. “Like that would make it any better.”

\--

They eventually do make it down for breakfast, both in fleece jackets and normal pants temporarily over their thermals. Kyungsoo immediately heads over to get a plate, and Chanyeol decides that getting a table would probably be a good idea. He snags a cup of coffee on his way, and stirs a packet of sugar in after he sits down.

The table for two is sort of near a window, but all he can see outside is the surrounding forest. Though, the snow-covered trees do look pretty. Speaking of which.

“Did it snow last night?” Kyungsoo asks as he sits down. His plate is loaded with eggs and a massive waffle. Chanyeol watches him pour syrup over it, and his mouth waters a little.

“Must have,” he replies, getting up. “I’m gonna go get my food now, do you want coffee, too?”

“Oh!” Kyungsoo’s eyes widen. “I knew there was something I forgot. Yes, please. Thank you.”

“Alright,” Chanyeol grins. He meanders over, and gets in line for the pancakes. While he’s waiting, he looks over at Kyungsoo from across the room. The line of his jaw as he turns his head, his posture, the way he crosses his legs automatically when he pulls out his phone. Chanyeol knows that Kyungsoo considers himself to be average in terms of looks, but he really doesn’t agree with that. And he doesn’t just think that because they’re dating, no; Kyungsoo might not be the perfect standard of beauty, but he’s definitely something special. Maybe even a little better than the standard, but that’s probably just Chanyeol’s bias talking.

Piling three pancakes onto his plate (they’re not too large, and he’s hungry), he snags a packet of syrup and some bacon before heading over to the coffee. As he waits, a woman in the same line turns around.

“It looks like it snowed last night, hmm?” she says, already eating her scrambled eggs.

“Yeah, it does,” Chanyeol says, trying to be polite. He’d really rather not have a conversation with a stranger who also happens to be eating. “I’m ready to get out there.”

“Oh, yeah, I think it’ll be fun today,” she replies eagerly, and clears her throat. “Are you here with anyone? Friends? A girlfriend?”

Chanyeol has now been given a decision to make. Does he tell this woman that he’s here alone or something, or does he tell her that he has a boyfriend? It’s always like this, and he hates it a little bit. He takes a deep breath. After what happened last night, and after Kyungsoo’s consoling words, he feels a lot better about himself and his attitude towards other people. So he decides that he’s not going to shy away anymore: no matter the reaction, he’s not going to hide anything. Because he’s fucking human and he and Kyungsoo deserves the same amount of respect as everybody else. “I’m here with my boyfriend,” he says gesturing vaguely over his shoulder. “We decided to take the weekend and come, because he’s never been skiing before.”

The woman’s eyes bulge a little bit, but Chanyeol doesn’t even care. “Oh, that’s very nice.”

“Yep,” he continues on blithely. “He’s from L.A., where it doesn’t snow ever, so I really wanted to take him, you know?” They shuffle up in line; it’s the woman’s turn to get coffee now. “Are you here with anyone?”

“Oh! Um, my husband and some of my friends,” she says, fumbling with the paper cup. “We’re doing the weekend too. We got lucky that everyone got time off.”

“Wow, you did!” Chanyeol says cheerfully. “Well, I hope you enjoy your time here!”

She nods, and walks off slowly. Chanyeol grins to himself, and sets about pouring coffee and adding creamer for Kyungsoo, then walks back to their table, plate and cutlery in one hand and coffee in the other.

“I hope that’s enough creamer,” he says as he sets the cup down. Kyungsoo accepts it gratefully, taking a sip. A smile spreads over his face.

“Yeah, this is good,” he says, setting the cup down. “The coffee is decent, too. I think I can face an entire day outside, now.”

“We won’t be outside the entire day,” Chanyeol reminds him, sitting down himself. He pours syrup over his pancakes, and digs in. “We’ll break for hot chocolate and then for lunch, too. It definitely isn’t good to be outside for that long, you could get frostbite or something.”

“That’s reassuring,” Kyungsoo mumbles, mouth full of waffle. “So I know I’m taking lessons, but what are you doing, again?”

“I’ll be snowboarding? I mean, unless you want me to take ski lessons with you,” Chanyeol suggests, straightening in his seat. “I do prefer snowboarding, though, and I thought you might not want me to watch you fall over a bunch? At least until you get the hang of it?”

“Ah,” Kyungsoo says delicately, spoon paused halfway to his mouth. “That’s... actually a good point. And considerate of you. I don’t mind if you do, though, but...”

“Yeah, it’s probably better if you just do that by yourself,” Chanyeol says, taking a sip of coffee. “We’ll get back together for lunch, though? Because the lessons should be over by lunch, so then we can go to the slope together.”

Kyungsoo pauses, chewing on his lip, before nodding. “Okay, that sounds like a good idea. You’ll help me rent the stuff though, right?”

“Oh, totally,” Chanyeol says eagerly. “No way am I going to let you do that by yourself. You don’t know what kind to get yet, and while I mostly snowboard, I still know how to pick out decent skis.”

“Good,” Kyungsoo says, resuming his eating. “Also, what did you talk about with that woman at the coffee machine? She looked a little spooked when she walked away.”

Chanyeol bites down on his lip, before deciding that this is something Kyungsoo would like to know about him. “Yeah, her. She asked me who I was here with, and I told her my boyfriend,” he says, cutting his pancakes into tiny pieces. “I guess I was kind of enthusiastic about it? You know how I can get enthusiastic about things.”

Kyungsoo laughs, and tangles their feet under the table. It warms Chanyeol’s heart a little more. “Trust me, yes indeed I do,” he giggles, then furrows his eyebrows. “Does this have anything to do with...?”

Chanyeol nods. “A little bit? After you talked to me last night, I think I had a surge of confidence or something, and I decided that I didn’t want to hide anything no matter what people think, even if they want to show their support in weird ways that are more to make themselves feel better.” He grins. “That was a little pointed, but you get the general idea.”

Kyungsoo is staring at him with a weird look on his face, but Chanyeol is pretty sure that it’s a good weird. “You...” he says, slowly relaxing. “I knew there was a reason why I started dating you.”

Chanyeol feels himself going a little red. “Oh?”

“You always manage to surprise me somehow, Yeollie,” Kyungsoo says, leaning forward. He takes the coffee cup out of Chanyeol’s hand, and links their fingers together instead. “I think I know all of you, and then you do something and change my entire perspective, and then I find myself loving you even more.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widen, totally involuntarily. “I. Wow. Didn’t know you thought that way.”

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo grins, rubbing the back of Chanyeol’s hand with his thumb, “That’s how I feel, though. I know this isn’t really a great place to talk about it, but.”

“I love you, too,” Chanyeol adds quietly, squeezing Kyungsoo’s hand. “I... yeah. That’s it.”

Kyungsoo’s smile is nearly blinding. “We should really finish breakfast,” he admits. “As much as I want to sit here and talk to you.”

Chanyeol smiles back. “You’re right, but how am I going to eat when you’re still holding my hand?”

Shrugging, Kyungsoo continues eating with his remaining (right) hand. “I guess you’ll just have to figure that out,” he says.

Chanyeol looks at his left hand a little sadly.

\--

Jackets and snow pants on, and Chanyeol with his helmet, goggles, and snowboard in hand, they make their way over the equipment rental area, where he and an employee collaborate in getting Kyungsoo fitted for skis.

“These are lighter than I thought they would be,” Kyungsoo says, lifting the skis. “I don’t know why I expected them to be heavier, but weird.”

“Yeah, the real weight comes from your jacket and stuff,” Chanyeol says, picking up his snowboard again. “Want me to ride up the chair lift with you to the spot where the lessons start?”

Kyungsoo looks over at him, eyes wide. “We start at the top of the hill?”

“Well, not the very top,” Chanyeol says, trying to reassure him. “And it’s not a high hill. Very simple. No jumps. Not particularly steep at all.”

Kyungsoo makes that squinty face he does when he’s suspicious. “I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt, and if I hurt myself, you’ll be at fault.”

“You’re not going to hurt yourself,” Chanyeol sighs, kicking up a drift of snow. “Just take it slow, listen to your body, and you’ll be perfectly fine.”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo says, a little reluctantly. They stop walking at the bottom of the Bunny Hill, and get in line for the chair lift. “Should I put my skis on now?”

Chanyeol shakes his head. “Not yet, the instructor will teach you better than I can, and you don’t need them when you get off the lift, so.” It’s their turn, so Chanyeol helps Kyungsoo up, and then sits himself. It’s only about a two minute ride up, but Kyungsoo is looking around for every moment of it.

And Chanyeol can see why. The air is crisp and the sky is clear, and from the top of the hill, you can see for miles. The mountains in the distance seem like they’re not so far away, with their tips looking like they were dipped in snow like one of those ice cream cones.

They slip off the chair lift, and walk over to where others are already gathering for a lesson. Pausing just outside the main group, Kyungsoo turns to him.

“You can go now, I guess? No point in waiting around when you could be snowboarding,” he says, eyes darting around.

“I mean, you’re a reason for me to hang around, but I think I’ll take you up on that and head out,” Chanyeol says, looping his arm around Kyungsoo’s waist. “Try to have fun, even if you fall, alright?”

“You sound like my mom,” Kyungsoo grumbles, but he smiles a little anyway. “I’ll meet you for lunch, then?”

Chanyeol nods. “Let’s say 11:30? Your lesson should be over at 11, seeing as it’s 9 now, so we’ll meet back near the rental place?”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo says, and Chanyeol kisses the tip of his nose.

“Bye!” With one last wave, he clips into his snowboard, and sails on down the hill. Normally he would do a run on the mountain to warm up his ankles, but he doesn’t have much time today, and he wants to hit the park. There aren’t any jumps on this hill, obviously, but he still does a couple of butters on his way.

Unclipping his snowboard at the bottom of the hill, Chanyeol walks over to the park, where there are various jumps, pipes, and rails set up. It’s around nine, so the park is just starting to get busy.

Chanyeol clips in and starts off down the small hill to pick up speed, and then hits a few jumps, managing an ollie on one. It’s satisfying, knowing that although he’s had the entire summer of no snowboarding (the occasional skateboarding, but it’s hardly the same), he can still manage to pull something off.

After a few rounds, he stops to take a short break and get some water from the station nearby. There are a couple of guys joking around nearby, and as he takes a sip of water, one of them calls out to him.

“Hey, that was a cool thing you did on that jump over there, what’s it called?”

Chanyeol turns around. “Oh, it’s just a combination of a few simpler ones. Forward 180 with an ollie,” he says, and the guy nods.

“Is it hard? I just started trying to do tricks this season,” he says, and his friend nods.

“Same here. I’ve been skiing for a while, but this dumbass persuaded me to start snowboarding last year, and now I have all my own gear,” he says, smacking the first guy in the arm. “Jongin, this shit’s expensive.”

“You didn’t have to copy me,” Jongin says, making a face at his friend. The guys are obviously younger than Chanyeol, but probably not by much. Jongin turns back to Chanyeol “I’m Jongin, and this is Taemin. We come here a lot,” he says, gesturing first at Taemin and then at the mountains in general.

“He means, whenever we can afford it,” Taemin cuts in. “Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Chanyeol,” Chanyeol says, grinning. “And same.”

\--

Two hours later, Chanyeol is exchanging numbers with both Jongin and Taemin. “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to come to the park again,” he says, saving them both in his contacts, “because I need to hang with my boyfriend, but we should keep in touch.”

Taemin nods. “Give us a season, and we should be on your level,” he says confidently.

Jongin gasps and hits him. “Rude, you dick.” He turns to Chanyeol. “Is your boyfriend cute? Does he have any single friends? Because my friend--”

Taemin hits him. “Now who’s rude? You can’t just ask someone if their boyfriend has single friends when you’ve only known them for a day.”

“—my friend is single,” Jongin finishes, elbowing Taemin, maybe a little too hard because he slips and falls into the snow.

Chanyeol laughs. “No, I don’t think he has any single friends, but I’ll let you know if someone comes up. Nice meeting you guys, but I really do have to go now.”

“Yeah, see you,” Taemin says, struggling to sit up. He kicks out at Jongin’s legs, and Jongin just dances away.

“Bye,” Jongin says, and Chanyeol leaves just as he stuffs snow down the front of Taemin’s coat.

Kyungsoo is sitting with his gear near the entrance of the rental hut, and he stands when he sees Chanyeol coming.

“Hey!” Chanyeol says, a little out of breath from his speedy walk over. “How did it go?”

“I fell about five times, but other than that it was okay,” Kyungsoo says, picking up his skis. “But I’m cold now, and I’m ready to eat lunch.”

Chanyeol grins. “Good. I’ve worked up an appetite, too, so let’s go eat.” They stash their skis, and head into the restaurant area of the lodge to eat.

Once they have their food, Kyungsoo asks, “So, what were you doing while I was falling around?”

“Oh! I met these two guys who were just starting out on snowboard tricks at the park,” Chanyeol says, taking a large bite of his sandwich. He really is hungry. “They asked me a few questions about some stuff, so I helped them out a little, and then we kind of just messed around for a while? I got a little closer to landing a full 360 off one of the low jumps, but I keep falling. Probably something about my angle.”

“That sounds like fun,” Kyungsoo says, taking a careful bite of his salad. “My instructor was nice, his name was Sehun? He was younger than me, definitely. I feel like I’ve started skiing too late.”

Chanyeol shakes his head. “That’s not true,” he says, setting his sandwich down to take a long drink of water. “You may have started too late to be pro, duh, but you can totally still learn. If we go a lot, I bet you could even learn to do jumps.”

Kyungsoo shudders a little. “Certainly not in the near future,” he says. “It’s hard enough for me to stay upright when I’m going downhill; I can’t even imagine leaving the ground and then having to stay upright when I come back in contact with it.”

“One day!” Chanyeol says, trying to keep it positive. “But, the bonus is definitely that you get a full body workout. Did you feel it?” he asks, making vague flexing gestures.

“Oh boy, did I,” Kyungsoo nearly moans. “I’m going to be so sore tomorrow. Like, to the point that I’m not even going to be able to move.”

“Is that a little more motivation to work out when we get home?” Chanyeol says, lifting an eyebrow. “But I get that, I’ve been doing this for a while, and I’m probably still going to be sore when I get up tomorrow.”

“Somehow, that’s only a little reassuring,” Kyungsoo grumbles, and waves for the waiter. “Are you good to go? As tired as I am already, I kind of want to try an actual hill.”

Chanyeol lifts his eyebrows. “Are you sure? We can stick to the easiest one for a while.”

Kyungsoo shakes his head. “No, I want you to enjoy yourself, too. Let’s do the second easiest, and I should be fine.”

“Alright, if you’re certain,” Chanyeol says, and they pull on their jackets again.

Lunch seems to give Chanyeol a new perspective: the air is still crisp, but it seems to have warmed up a bit. The mountain is also a little more crowded this time of day, but that shouldn’t be much of a problem. They pick up their gear again, and head over to the chair lift for the second-hardest hill. Kyungsoo easily snaps his boots into his skis, and doesn’t need any help getting on the chair lift.

“Your instructor taught you well, huh?” Chanyeol remarks, swinging his legs.

Kyungsoo nods. “We made it down the hill a couple times, so he made us go back up with our skis on. It wasn’t too bad, actually, I just kept falling when I started going too fast.”

“Can you stop?” Chanyeol asks, taking Kyungsoo’s ski poles so he can adjust his goggles.

“Yeah, that was the first thing he taught us,” Kyungsoo says. “Should we be reapplying sunscreen at some point?”

“We’ll do it when we break for cocoa in like two and a half hours,” Chanyeol says, turning around to look at the big clock at the bottom of the hill. “If you’re really worried, I think I have some in one of my pockets,” he says, patting himself down, “but I kind of don’t want to take off my gloves right now.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Kyungsoo says. “I’ll trust you on this one.”

They hop off the lift, and Kyungsoo glides sort of confidently away. Chanyeol follows, trying to keep his speed on the slow side. Now out of the way, they start to pick up speed.

“Wait,” Kyungsoo calls out, in a sort of panicked voice. “Hang on--”

Chanyeol turns and slides to a stop, and Kyungsoo slips past him, skis angled inwards, but not enough, apparently, because he falls with a yelp. Chanyeol winces.

Wiggling on over, he offers Kyungsoo a hand up, which he accepts, brushing the snow off his butt.

“That hurt,” Kyungsoo mumbles, and bends down to pick up his fallen ski poles. “That makes six times. I didn’t think this would be that steep.”

“It’s not all like this,” Chanyeol says, picking up his other pole. “There are flatter parts, but we need to accelerate a little in the beginning in order to have enough speed at those bits.”

“Not really sure I want that much speed,” Kyungsoo mutters, but straightens up anyway. “Okay. I really don’t want to go that fast, though, so should I just slow down instead of stopping?”

Chanyeol nods. “That would probably be good, yeah,” he says, and rotates himself around again. Kyungsoo’s eyes watch his movement.

“That looks hard,” he comments, and Chanyeol shrugs.

“I’ve been snowboarding instead of skiing since I was 14, so it really isn’t too bad,” he says. “Are you ready to start again? We’ll go a little slower this time.”

“Yeah, sure,” Kyungsoo says, and pushes off cautiously. This time it looks like he has a better handle on his speed. “So are you saying you haven’t skied since 14?”

“No,” Chanyeol says, raising his voice over the noise of other people talking and the wind blowing. He flips himself around to face Kyungsoo again. “I do ski occasionally, like if I go with my parents, or if I do cross-country. I’m not bad at it, I’m just not as good as I am at snowboarding.” There’s a good-looking patch of snow coming up, so he shoots ahead a little and does a few butter turns, then slows and waits for Kyungsoo to catch up. A couple of other people whiz past, and Chanyeol rolls his eyes. If they were actually good enough to show off, they wouldn’t be doing it on the second easiest hill.

He notices that Kyungsoo is drifting a bit towards the side of the path, so he calls out. “Soo, come back over this way. You don’t want to run into a tree or something.”

Kyungsoo looks over at him, tries to turn, and falls again, this time forward into the snow. “Help,” he says, and his voice is a little muffled.

Chanyeol makes his way over again, and bends down, first grabbing Kyungsoo’s ski poles, and then offering him an arm to pull himself up. Kyungsoo carefully straightens his skis, and takes his poles back.

“I think I’m okay,” he breathes, adjusting his goggles with one hand. “I wasn’t this bad over on the other hill.”

“That’s fine, honestly,” Chanyeol says, bending down to fix the clip on one of Kyungsoo’s skis. “It took me a whole season to be able to go down a hill without falling on my snowboard. I’m not really expecting you to get it this quick.”

“Yeah, but I want you to be able to have fun here, not to just have to take care of me,” Kyungsoo says, looking a little troubled. “Why can’t I get it?”

“Really, don’t worry,” Chanyeol says with a smile that is probably barely visible above his scarf. “Do you want to hold onto me so I can help you turn?”

Kyungsoo uses a glove to scratch at an exposed bit of his cheek. “Are you sure that wouldn’t make it worse? Wouldn’t I just knock you down, too?”

Chanyeol shrugs. “We could try, and if it doesn’t work, oh well. I definitely need to up my fall count for today.” He offers his arm to Kyungsoo, who hesitantly grabs on. “Ready?”

“I guess,” Kyungsoo replies, and they’re off again.

\--

By the time they head inside for the day (after two 2.5 hour sessions interrupted by a hot cocoa break), Kyungsoo has fallen nearly countless times, and taken Chanyeol down with him only thrice. Which is perfectly fine in Chanyeol’s terms, because he had fallen so much when he was first learning to snowboard.

Kyungsoo, on the other hand, is a little bit upset. Maybe frustrated, annoyed? Not full on angry, but definitely irritated.

“I don’t even know how many times I fell,” he says, finally taking off his helmet. They’re standing in the line to return rented equipment for the day. “I feel like I totally ruined your day, and wasted mine.”

“Soo,” Chanyeol says, but it’s their turn, and he’s interrupted. Kyungsoo pulls off all of his ski gear, and then puts it on the counter for the guy working there.

“Damn, I’m tired,” Kyungsoo says as they leave the rental hut. “I could probably just fall asleep right now, if I weren’t so hungry.”

“That’s understandable,” Chanyeol comments, taking his goggles off his head. They enter the lodge, and start climbing the stairs. Chanyeol won’t lie, he feels a little fatigued as well. “Well, hopefully dinner will wake us up enough that week can spend some time in the hot springs. The hot water is great for achy muscles.”

“Then I definitely need that,” Kyungsoo says, stretching. “The stiffness is already setting in.”

Once in their room, they both strip down. Peeling off the layers feels like coming out of some sort of cocoon, and Chanyeol is always happy to let his skin breathe real air again. He slips into sweatpants and a sweatshirt, and while he knows he looks a little like a bum, he really doesn’t feel like wearing any constricting clothing right now.

Kyungsoo looks like he’s thinking in similar lines, because he’s got on a pair of looser cotton pants and a sweatshirt as well. Of course, the pants still cling to his thighs; everything he wears does, and Chanyeol loves it.

He blinks. Now is not the time to think about that. “Ready to go for dinner?”

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo says, stretching out a shoulder. “Although I’d love to just pass out.”

“You’re right, but hold out for the hot tubs,” Chanyeol persuades him, grabbing his room key and phone and pushing Kyungsoo out the door. It clicks shut behind them, and he takes Kyungsoo’s hand as they walk back down the hall. “It’ll totally be worth it. I promise,” he cajoles.

“If you’re hyping this up for nothing, I’m going to be a little upset,” Kyungsoo says, eyes narrowed, but he keeps walking anyway.

Dinner is quieter than normal, maybe because they’re both tired, maybe because Kyungsoo is still unhappy that he fell so much. Chanyeol wants to reason with him, tell him that it’s normal to fall a lot, especially if you don’t have a lot in terms of physical coordination, but if he does, he thinks Kyungsoo will just be even more upset. And he really doesn’t want that. Sometimes, Chanyeol has found that it’s better to leave Kyungsoo on his own to think things over. He’s pretty self-sufficient, usually.

They get back to their room, and Chanyeol immediately goes over to his suitcase to root around. He knows that he definitely packed swim trunks somewhere, just where is the question...

“Is this why you told me to bring a swimsuit?” Kyungsoo asks, one eyebrow arched. He sits down on the bed, and kicks his feet out.

“Yup,” Chanyeol says happily, finding his trunks underneath an extra scarf. “Do you have yours?”

Falling back on the bed, Kyungsoo rolls over onto his stomach. “I do, they’re in my suitcase somewhere.”

“Want me to get them for you?” Chanyeol figures that he could use a little pampering.

“Yeah, just don’t mess my stuff up.”

“I would never.” Chanyeol carefully lifts Kyungsoo’s belongings out of his suitcase. Toiletries, pants, socks... and his condom stash. He glances back at Kyungsoo, whose feet are facing him. Maybe not tonight, then. Kyungsoo’s swim trunks are underneath, and he pulls them out. “Of course they’re black.”

“Have we never been swimming together before?” Kyungsoo asks, his voice muffled in blankets. “I feel like we have.”

“I don’t think so?” Chanyeol says, tossing the trunks on the bed next to Kyungsoo, whose fingers twitch, but other than that, he doesn’t move. “Are you going to make me put them on for you?”

At this, Kyungsoo rolls over, a small smile on his face. “That would be nice, but probably weird. I’ll do it.” He sits up and starts tugging off his sweatshirt.

“Ooh, no, keep that on,” Chanyeol says, holding a hand out to stop him. “The hot tubs are outside, and we still need to get from here to there.”

“Ah. Good point.”

Chanyeol slips off his sweatpants and underwear, and puts on his own (bright red, thank you very much) trunks instead. He then pulls his sweatpants back on over the trunks, because cold legs? Chanyeol thinks not.

“Coat, too,” he calls out to Kyungsoo, grabbing his own. “They’ll have towels there, though.”

“Mmm.” Kyungsoo finally heaves himself off the bed to fully change into his swim trunks. Chanyeol heads into the bathroom to leave him alone for a little bit. He pees, and decides that brushing his teeth wouldn’t be a bad thing.

When he steps back into the bedroom, Kyungsoo is again lying on the bed, but now wearing a pair of swim trunks. “Can we watch a movie before we go?” he asks, rolling to face Chanyeol. “The hot tubs are open late, right? I really don’t want to deal with little kids right now.”

“They don’t usually let little kids in hot tubs,” Chanyeol says, shrugging off his coat and rooting around for the remote for the TV. “But the teenagers can get annoying, so yeah, we can wait a bit. As long as you don’t fall asleep during the movie.”

Kyungsoo mock gasps. “I would never.”

“You totally would,” Chanyeol grins. “What do you want to watch? We could see what’s already on, or I think they probably have pay-per-view movies.”

“I think there was supposed to be a Harry Potter marathon this weekend,” Kyungsoo says, rubbing a hand through his hair. “I would be down for that.”

“Oh, yeah, hang on,” Chanyeol says, walking backwards until he hits the bed. He sits, and messes around with the remote until he does, indeed, fine a Harry Potter marathon in progress. “Woo, fourth movie. The hair in this one was wild.”

“Don’t even start,” Kyungsoo laughs quietly. “Was long hair the trend the year this came out? I can’t even remember.”

“Maybe,” Chanyeol says, and crawls back to curl himself around Kyungsoo, who latches on. Chanyeol grabs a few pillows to prop his head up, allowing Kyungsoo to rest his head on Chanyeol’s chest. It’s very cute, although Chanyeol would never say that to his face.

As the movie plays, Chanyeol finds himself spacing out, and just listening to the sound of Kyungsoo’s breathing. While they’ve spent entire days together before (like at the wedding), this is the first time they’ve gone somewhere and it’s just them. No relatives to talk to, nothing else to focus on. And Chanyeol likes it, being the center of Kyungsoo’s attention for a while.

The movie ends, and Kyungsoo wriggles around. “Should we go now?” he asks, looking up at Chanyeol. “I think I’m ready to face the public again.”

“Still tired from falling, then?” Chanyeol asks cautiously. He thinks maybe now is a good time to talk about this.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo says, turning over so his stomach is touching Chanyeol’s side. “Watching everyone else speeding by, and then you snowboarding as easy as walking, and then me falling so many times. It was frustrating.”

Kyungsoo didn’t always open up like this. When they first started dating, if he was unhappy about something, he’d keep it under lock and key for weeks. They even almost broke up a few times because of it: Kyungsoo being too passive-aggressive and Chanyeol too bold in his concerns. But he learned, and Kyungsoo learned, and they’re on their way to better communication. They’re not always perfect, and really, who is? They’re trying, though, and so far Chanyeol is pretty happy.

“I guess it would be a little presumptuous of me to say that I know exactly how you’re feeling,” Chanyeol admits, bringing a hand up to stroke through Kyungsoo’s hair, “But I was sort of the same way when I started snowboarding. I did fall a lot, and it’s only because I’ve been doing it for so long that I’m good at it. Plus, I don’t know if you noticed, but you did get better the longer we stayed out.”

“It didn’t feel like much of an improvement,” Kyungsoo says, but he seems a little happier. “Also, were you showing off at all? Admit it, if you were,” he prods.

Chanyeol grins bashfully. “Only a little, at the beginning, with the turns and stuff. If you really want me to show off, we need to go to the park.”

“Is that like a skate park, but for snowboards?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what it is. The obstacles are a little different, though,” Chanyeol explains. He brings one hand out from underneath Kyungsoo’s body to demonstrate. “The jumps are like this, instead of like this, and we have more half-pipes and boxes.”

Kyungsoo stares at him blankly. “Can you do all of that?”

Chanyeol shakes his head. “I can do some of them, and others I can do but not very well. It doesn’t help that you can only practice for four months out of the year.”

“Oh,” Kyungsoo says, relaxing a little. “Yeah, I suppose that would be a bit of a problem.”

They’re quiet for a few moments. Chanyeol lies there and listens to Kyungsoo’s breathing. It’s fairly steady, and he loves how he can feel his chest rising and falling.

“Do you want to go to the hot tubs now?” Chanyeol asks finally. “I think you’re really going to like it.”

Kyungsoo grunts, and sits up. He runs a hand through his hair, and down over his face. “I guess we have to, now that I’m in swim trunks, huh?”

Chanyeol shrugs. “If that’s how you want to do it, sure. Let’s go with that.” He sits up himself and reaches for his jacket, and slips it back on. “Are you taking your key, too? You probably don’t need your phone because I’m bringing mine.”

Kyungsoo slips on his jacket. The thick padding dwarfs him, and Chanyeol resists the urge to go over and hug him and maybe hold on forever. “I’ll just bring my keycard,” Kyungsoo says, picking it up from the desk in the room. “I don’t see why I would need my phone if we’re going to be in a hot tub.”

“Sounds good,” Chanyeol agrees. “I’m going to zip mine into a coat pocket just in case. You good to go?”

Slipping on his shoes, Kyungsoo nods. “Let’s go. You keep hyping it up, I hope I’m not disappointed.”

Chanyeol gasps. “Never,” he says, placing a hand over his heart. He follows Kyungsoo out the door, and they walk down the stairs and outside to the hot tubs. There are people around, especially in the big one, but definitely not as many as there would have been had they shown up two hours ago.

Steam rises off the hot water into the frigid air, and the effect isn’t spooky, but instead maybe... ethereal? Chanyeol isn’t really sure how to describe it.

“Where should we...” Kyungsoo trails off, looking around. He stands on his toes for a moment, craning his neck. “It’s still pretty crowded.”

“Oh!” Chanyeol shakes himself a little to clear his head. “Right, I think they still have more private ones in the back. I paid for a little more expensive room, so they should let us access those,” he says pulling out his keycard.

Kyungsoo lifts an eyebrow. “How expensive are we talking? How much money are you dropping on this, anyway?”

“Not that much!” Chanyeol says, waving his hands. “It’s not what you’re thinking. They just have budget rooms, for families and stuff, you know? The most expensive thing is your equipment rental. Which is why if you like it, we’ll buy you your own stuff eventually.”

Kyungsoo narrows his eyes at him. “Why am I having a hard time believing you?”

“It’s the truth, I promise,” Chanyeol whines, socking him in the shoulder. “Really. It’s not that much,” he insists, and tugs Kyungsoo in the direction of the smaller tubs.

“Alright,” Kyungsoo says, but his tone is still a little suspicious. Chanyeol shakes his head.

They reach the barrier, and Chanyeol swipes his keycard, and the gate door opens. “See?” he says. There’s a row of circular hot tubs, large enough for about ten people each. There are a few people here, some talking, and a couple just sitting. “Come on.”

Kyungsoo follows him down to the end, where two people are just climbing out of one of the tubs.

“It’s all yours,” the man says, grabbing a towel to dry himself off. He and the woman walk off chatting, and Chanyeol does a tiny fist-pump.

“Nice,” he whispers, and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at him. “What?”

“You’re ridiculous,” he says, but slips off his jacket. “Whoa, cold cold cold.”

“Almost like it’s winter or something,” Chanyeol says, grinning. “Hurry up and get in, you’ll warm up real fast.” He shrugs off his own shoes, coat, sweatpants, and sweatshirt as quickly as he can, then slips in. The water is blistering hot against his skin, but it feels amazing. “Oh my god.”

Kyungsoo finishes taking off his pants, and he crossings his arms, shivering for a few seconds before Chanyeol waves him over. He dips a toe in the water first, and his eyes spring wide open. “Oh. Okay.” He quickly sits down and heaves himself in, letting out a sigh when his body hits the hot water. “That’s good. Okay. I think I get it now.”

“Mm, not all of it,” Chanyeol says, and scoots over so he’s sitting right next to Kyungsoo. He slides an arm around his shoulders. “Close your eyes, and don’t open them until I say so.”

Squinting, Kyungsoo asks, “How do I know you aren’t going to do anything weird?”

“I’m not, please trust me and do it?”

“Okay.”

Chanyeol shuts his own eyes. He can hear the water lapping at the sides of tub, the quiet sounds of people talking around them, and a faint whistle of the wind through the forest. At this moment, with Kyungsoo in his arms, he’s more comfortable than he’s ever been in his life. “Okay, when you open your eyes, look directly up,” he tells Kyungsoo. “Go.”

Opening his own eyes, Chanyeol stares into the night sky. A multitude of stars wink back at him. It looks like someone took a paintbrush and flicked white paint all over a black canvas, except deeper, somehow. And it’s beautiful.

He glances over at Kyungsoo, who is staring up with his lips slightly parted. “Wow,” Kyungsoo says softly. “Why didn’t I notice that before?”

“You were preoccupied, and you probably weren’t looking,” Chanyeol says quietly, rubbing at Kyungsoo’s shoulder. “But yeah, the stars are what makes it worth it.”

“The hot water does feel good, too,” Kyungsoo admits, swishing his hands around. “My legs are less stiff already. I should probably stretch a little, or something.”

“I can help you, if you like,” Chanyeol says with a wink, and Kyungsoo hits him. They both go back to looking at the star-dotted sky.

“You can’t see this in L.A.,” Kyungsoo says after a while. “There’s too much light pollution. You can go out into the desert, and it’s better, but it’s nothing compared to this. Wow.”

Chanyeol grins. “There’s really nothing better than snow-covered mountains and a starry sky,” he says, kicking his feet out a little. “Why do you think there are so many calendars with pictures of just that?” His muscles love the feeling of the warm water, and he can feel the tenseness fading away.

“You’re really right,” Kyungsoo says, trailing off. He’s still looking up, and as Chanyeol watches, he shuts his eyes again, waits, and opens them. “I could sit here all night.”

“Well, technically, we do have to get out of here at some point. I think 45 minutes is the absolute limit, twenty is probably a safe compromise,” Chanyeol admits, straightening up a little. “Speaking of which, want me to give you a massage while we’re here?”

Kyungsoo looks up at him, eyebrows lifted. “Are you... serious?”

“Just your back and shoulders,” Chanyeol huffs, making a face. “I’m not going to do anything weird.”

“Well. Then I guess I have no reason to say no,” Kyungsoo says, and slips out from under Chanyeol’s arm. He moves in front of him, and kicks Chanyeol’s knees together so he can sit on them.

“You... never mind,” Chanyeol says, and dutifully brings his hands up. He kneads the back of Kyungsoo’s neck with his thumbs. “Anywhere in particular that hurts?”

“No, what were you going to say? What about me?” Kyungsoo says, like he’s trying to be mean, but his tone is lighthearted. “And take your time, but focus on my lower back.”

“Yes, your highness,” Chanyeol says. He works his hands down to Kyungsoo’s shoulders, and starts working on the muscles there. “I was going to say something about how you’re so, I don’t really know how to put it? You act all standoffish sometimes, but only because you don’t want to seem like you’re excited for something. You don’t have to hide that, you know.”

“Of course I know that.” Chanyeol can’t see Kyungsoo’s face, but he really wishes he could.

“I’m sure you do. But you know I won’t be judgmental if you get excited about something, right? Because however excited you might get, I promise I’ll be worse,” Chanyeol laughs quietly. He rubs intensely at a knot, and Kyungsoo lets out a small moan of relief. “I don’t mean to imply anything, but I feel like at some point someone told you that it wasn’t cool to show how happy you are.”

Kyungsoo makes little waves with his hands on the surface of the water. “I think I actually kind of get what you’re trying to say,” he begins, a little hesitantly. “I think I got tired of being called childish and cute, when I was at an age when that’s the last thing you wanted. It doesn’t help that I’m so short.”

“Mmhm,” Chanyeol agrees. He uses his knuckles to knead Kyungsoo’s lower back, who seems to be relaxing more and more by the minute. “All I’m really trying to say is, I like when you get excited around me. When you’re happy, I’m happier, and all of that jazz.”

“Yeah. You would be like that.”

Chanyeol pushes particularly hard, and Kyungsoo yelps. “I would be like that?”

“All cheesy, and gross, and meaningful,” Kyungsoo says quietly. “I like it, though. You’re good for me.”

“I’m good for you?”

Kyungsoo turns around and knocks his hands away, linking their fingers together. He glares at Chanyeol dead in the eyes. “Look, I’m trying to be more open about expressing things, like you just told me. In the time that we’ve been dating, you’ve changed me. Not against my will or anything. You’ve changed me and I like myself better than I did before.”

Chanyeol can’t kiss him here, so he does the next best thing, and that’s to wrap Kyungsoo in his arms and hold him close. “Thanks,” he says, squeezing a little harder. “You’re not the only one, you know. My mom says that I’m happier these days, or something. I think she’s right; I think dating you makes me happier.”

Kyungsoo lets out some sort of noise, and Chanyeol can feel it reverberating through his chest. “Fuck, we’re both so cheesy. I feel ridiculous.”

“That’s fine,” Chanyeol says, refusing to let go. “It’s okay to feel a little ridiculous sometimes. I like us when we’re cheeseballs.” The wind blows a little harder, but they’re warm in the hot tub.

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo says after a while. “Me too.”

\--

Eventually a group of people come over, looking for an empty tub, and Chanyeol decides that they’ve cooked enough. He taps a sleepy Kyungsoo’s shoulder (his skin isn’t too red, so Chanyeol guesses that he’s probably fine), and they haul themselves out of the tub, hurrying to dry off and bury themselves in their jackets again.

“Ahaha, cold cold cold,” Kyungsoo mutters, teeth chattering a little. “Hurry up, Yeol. I want to go back inside.”

Chanyeol drapes his towel over his damp hair for insulation, then checks his pockets. “Yeah, I have everything. Let’s go,” he says, and leads Kyungsoo back out of the pool area and into the lodge. It’s blessedly warm inside, even though they’ve been in the hot tub for a while.

“Do we have to shower again to get the chlorine off?” Kyungsoo asks, linking hands with Chanyeol now that the main floor of the lodge is almost empty, except for a few people drinking hot chocolate near the fireplace. Chanyeol kind of wants some, but he also wants to go to sleep with a warm cuddly Kyungsoo in his arms, so hot chocolate can wait until tomorrow night.

“I’d be concerned if it was in my hair,” Chanyeol says as they climb the stairs. He can feel the ache coming back a little, but it’s not too bad. Kyungsoo’s must be worse. “But it didn’t get totally soaked, just a little damp from the steam, so I’m not really worried. We can rinse off in the morning if that’s what you want.”

“Yeah, that’s fine with me,” Kyungsoo says, yawning. “I really just want to pass out.”

“God, same,” Chanyeol laughs. “The hot water always makes me sleepy, even when I soak in the middle of the day.”

“Do you soak during the day?”

“Only when I’m ending early or when I want a view of the mountains while I do it,” Chanyeol says, unlocking the door to their room. Kyungsoo follows him in, and promptly strips off his jacket and shoes.

“Pajamas,” he says decisively, and Chanyeol hides his smile.

“Yeah, pajamas sound good,” he agrees, and goes to change.

They brush their teeth together (Kyungsoo pressuring him into flossing, as per usual), and when they’re finished, Chanyeol slithers under the covers, Kyungsoo curling up under his arm.

Just before he falls asleep, he hears Kyungsoo let out a happy little sigh.

\--

Chanyeol wakes up to Kyungsoo moaning softly.

“Oh, my god,” he whispers, and Chanyeol blinks a few times to clear his eyes.

“Something wrong?” he asks Kyungsoo, who sits up slowly.

“I’m so sore,” Kyungsoo says in disbelief. He reaches down to massage his calves, muttering to himself. “Why did I let you take me here, again?”

Chanyeol snickers, and reaches one arm out to tug at the back of Kyungsoo’s shirt. “Because you love me, and because I’m paying.” Kyungsoo gives in and flops back down next to him, scooting closer in hopes of retaining some kind of warmth. “I know it’s kind of early, but we should probably get up soon.”

“I really don’t think you realize how cold it is.”

“You’re really from L.A., aren’t you,” Chanyeol laughs, running his fingers through Kyungsoo’s hair. “This really isn’t that bad, you know.”

“Hush,” Kyungsoo hisses, and pinches his side. Chanyeol yelps, and moves to rub the spot. Kyungsoo pinches hard. “It doesn’t matter where I’m from, it’s cold as balls outside this bed and I really don’t want to face it. Especially since we’ll be doing more skiing, which means more of me falling down and making a fool of myself.”

“You’re still learning, you’re not making a fool out of yourself,” Chanyeol says. “Although. Why don’t we do cross country skiing this morning, instead? You probably won’t fall as much since there usually isn’t much of an incline, and the trails are groomed. It’ll be real pretty.”

“Is it different than normal skiing?” Kyungsoo asks, wriggling his toes against Chanyeol’s calves. “If it’s harder I don’t want to.”

“Personally, I think it’s easier,” Chanyeol says. “It’s a little like skating, except just with more friction. You’ll like it, I promise.”

Kyungsoo sits up just to give him a side-eye, and Chanyeol laughs and pulls him down for a kiss. They lay there for a good while, just basking in each other.

But breakfast calls in the form of Chanyeol’s stomach gurgling.

“Good point,” Kyungsoo says, rolling off Chanyeol and bringing his arms over his head to stretch out his shoulders. “Food is definitely a good idea, especially if we’re going to be doing more athletic activity.”

“Gotta build those muscles,” Chanyeol agrees, jokingly, and sits up. “I’m surprised you’re not starving by now.”

“Maybe not starving, but definitely hungry,” Kyungsoo allows. “You know I’d rather stay in bed with you, though.”

“But we can eat breakfast together, so.”

Kyungsoo groans. “Stop flirting with me, I’m coming, already,” he says, and hauls himself back up to a seated position. He runs a hand through his hair to try and tame his bed head (failing, of course, there’s no way helmet hair can be tamed on its own). “Are we going to shower before or after breakfast?”

“Might as well shower now,” Chanyeol says. He gets up and stretches fully; he’s probably not as sore as Kyungsoo, but it’s been a while. “Besides, I wasn’t done flirting.”

\--

After breakfast they both head out to the rental shack. Chanyeol doesn’t actually own his own skis, or cross-country skis for that matter, so he rents a pair for himself, as well.

“This feels a little different,” Kyungsoo comments, pushing off a little once he’s buckled in. “I won’t lie to you, I like the idea of not speeding down a hill a lot better.”

Chanyeol shrugs. “Hey, it’s all about your preference. But I think once you get used to it, and increase your skill level a little, downhill is more fun.” He breathes in. The air is crisp, and the sun is bright. Today is a good day for photography.

Kyungsoo lifts an eyebrow at him. “I feel like that might actually be based on your love of dangerous situations, and less of the actually skill factor.” Pushing off, he glides a little, then stops himself with his poles. “Oh, yeah,” he says, more too himself than Chanyeol. “This’ll be much easier.”

Chanyeol follows. “Yeah, well. Come on, let’s go look at the map of trails.”

There’s a large board outline the trails all over the park, including details on the approximate time and difficulty of each. Chanyeol follows the line of a medium difficulty one with his finger.

“Medium difficulty?” Kyungsoo asks. “Are we sure?”

“Yes, actually,” Chanyeol replies, eyeing another possibility. “The easy ones are good for kids, and they’ll be really crowded, especially on a Saturday. If we go on a medium difficulty trail, especially one of the ones that takes like three hours, we’ll still meet people, but definitely a little less often.”

Kyungsoo is silent for a moment. “I’m going to trust you on this,” he says, glaring at Chanyeol warily, “But know that my trust is waning. You said skiing would be easy, and it’s not.”

“Hey, when I learned, it wasn’t that hard, okay?” Chanyeol whines. “That might have been because I was a kid, but really, it’s different for everyone.”

“Hush,” Kyungsoo says, and Chanyeol complies. “Let me complain.”

Chanyeol laughs. “Alright, alright, I’m sorry. Let’s start the trail; the shorter we’re outside, the better.”

The trail starts at the entrance to the forest next to the lodge, and while it does look groomed, it definitely doesn’t look like many people have been on it today. They set off next to each other, and Kyungsoo glides fairly easily over the snow.

Encouraging Kyungsoo to speed up a little, Chanyeol gains a little speed. The trees are barren, but the evergreens are draped with snow, and they glitter wherever the sun hits.

“It’s pretty, but it’s cold out,” Kyungsoo huffs. “Will I be warm by the time we finish? Is this one of those ‘exercise so you warm up’ things?” He moves away from his spot next to Chanyeol on the trail so he can move around a little more, and speeds up.

“Yeah, kinda,” Chanyeol says, speeding up as well. They’re going only a bit faster than Chanyeol can run. “Although I think that applies to literally all winter sports, so are you really surprised?”

Kyungsoo snorts. “I guess not,” he says, and lifts his poles up so he can glide. Their skis make twin paths through the snow, and Chanyeol kind of wants to take a picture of their trail, but he also doesn’t want to stop (at least not yet).

“Do you like this better than downhill, then?” Chanyeol asks, gliding a little himself so Kyungsoo can catch up. He’s not used to skiing; he might actually be sore tomorrow.

“Oh, definitely,” Kyungsoo laughs. “But I get it, downhill is more fun. I’ll practice more after we eat lunch or something.”

“You don’t have to if you really don’t want to,” Chanyeol reminds him. “I won’t be particularly offended.”

“No, I’ll do it.” Kyungsoo looks over at him. His eyes aren’t visible behind his googles, but something about the set of his mouth suggests determination.

Chanyeol admires Kyungsoo for that, honestly. If there’s one thing about Kyungsoo that has never faltered, never changed, it’s his determination. When they had first started dating, and Chanyeol wasn’t really sure about them as a couple, it was Kyungsoo who sat him down and made him talk about his feelings. It was Kyungsoo who made sure they made up after fights, who made sure Chanyeol talked to his mom about his problems.

And Kyungsoo’s determination in his own life is admirable, as well: in the big things, like his move from L.A. to Denver, but also in the little things, like refusing to give up after falling so many times. Chanyeol thinks that if only a little of Kyungsoo rubs off on him, he’ll be significantly better off.

Their relationship is reciprocal, in that way. Kyungsoo grounds him, and makes him want to fight for something, and he helps Kyungsoo blossom like the beautiful lotus flower he is.

“What?” Kyungsoo says. His goggles shift on his face, and Chanyeol can guess that his eyebrows are probably high on his forehead. “Is something wrong? You’re looking at me weird.”

“No,” Chanyeol says slowly. He grins. “Just thinking about how much I love you.”

Kyungsoo turns away, shaking his head. He speeds up a little, enough to put him a couple paces ahead of Chanyeol. “You’re ridiculous. I don’t even know how that got into your head at this moment. I love you too.”

“Are we not allowed to have a gross honeymoon-like vacation together?” Chanyeol yells, laughing, as Kyungsoo gets further ahead. “Let me live, Kyungsoo!”

“You can live when you decide to start acting like—oh, wow, this is beautiful.”

Stopping carefully, Kyungsoo scoots off the track and looks up. There’s a drop off, and the area is clear of trees, giving them a magnificent view of the snow-topped mountains. It really is incredible, especially since it’s so clear out today. Tucking his poles underneath one arm, Chanyeol pulls out his phone and tugs off a glove.

“Hold still,” he calls out, and Kyungsoo looks over at him anyway. “Well, if you’re gonna do that, take off your goggles so I can see your eyes.”

Kyungsoo heaves a sigh, but does it anyway. “Is this good enough, or should I take off my coat, too?”

Chanyeol lines up the shot, making sure his composition is decent. “No, that’s good,” he says cheerfully. “Now just look back at the pretty mountains, please, I want to get your jawline in.”

“I really don’t know why I put up with you,” Kyungsoo grumbles, but Chanyeol can still see his smile. Nothing like underhanded compliments to boost Kyungsoo’s mood.

He takes a few shots, both in portrait and landscape, before slipping off his own goggles and gliding over to stand next to Kyungsoo. Flipping the camera to the front-facing, he holds his phone up. “A few more?” he asks, pulling out the smile he uses to get what he wants.

“I think I better stop putting up resistance,” Kyungsoo says lifting his eyebrows. He transfers his ski poles to one hand and loops an arm around Chanyeol’s waist, pulling them together. “You seem to do what you want anyway, so.”

“It’s never bad things,” Chanyeol argues lightheartedly, looking over at him. It really isn’t, normally just pictures, and ski trips, and falling down mountains. “Smile?”

Kyungsoo does his best, and Chanyeol takes a half-dozen pictures, changing the angle slightly with each one. When he’s done, Kyungsoo drops his arm and turns back to the view.

Chanyeol pages through the photos. “Oh man, these are nice,” he says out loud. They really are: decent white balance, not blurry, and impeccable composition. The selfies he took also aren’t bad, in fact... “I think I might print this out and frame it.”

“Please don’t.”

Chanyeol grins. “I’m gonna.”

“Why?”

“So I can give one to my mom, and so I can have more pictures of you around my apartment. I really think it needs it,” Chanyeol says. He locks his phone and slips it back into his jacket. “I only have, like, three. There should obviously be more.”

“And every time you add a photo, our friends make fun of me more and more,” Kyungsoo says, crossing his arms. “I can already hear it, ‘Kyungsoo looks so cute!’ and ‘Chanyeol, who did you have to kill to make Kyungsoo happy enough to smile?’”

“Has anyone actually said that?” Chanyeol asks, curious.

“Yes,” Kyungsoo says, glaring. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind, I just don’t want you to plaster your walls with my face. And is it really that hard for people to understand that you make me happy, no murder necessary?”

Chanyeol nods. “They do take it a little far sometimes, don’t they,” he muses. “Look, if someone says something about this one, I’ll just ask if they’re jealous that you like me more than them.” He stuffs his hands back into his gloves and grips his ski poles. “Ready to keep going?”

“Not sure how much good that will do, but okay,” Kyungsoo says. He carefully turns around. “Yeah, good to go.”

They push off again, and continue gliding through the snow.

\--

Chanyeol won’t lie, he’s pretty tired by the time they finish the trail. Definitely tired and hungry enough to eat literally everything in sight, so he and Kyungsoo turn in their equipment and drive over to a restaurant in the nearby town. As nice as the lodge’s restaurant is, Chanyeol kind of just wants a burger.

He’s also excited for the moment where Kyungsoo bites into some good-ass food and looks like he’s about to cry.

“Yes, I needed this,” Kyungsoo near groans. “Chanyeol, I really needed this.”

Chanyeol nods, resting his head on a fist. “Yup. Clogs the arteries, but cleanses the soul.”

Kyungsoo sets the burger down, glaring. “You’re not allowed to make me feel like I’m eating something shitty, okay?” he says as he wipes his hands. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

“I wasn’t saying that,” Chanyeol says, popping a couple of fries in his mouth. “The point is that yes, it’s bad for you, but you can’t just eat salad all the time, you know? Sometimes you need to eat something that makes you feel happy inside. And that sometime is now,” he says, and bites into his own burger happily.

Kyungsoo watches him. “You know, I actually like your logic there. Doesn’t explain the near constant pan of brownies in your fridge, but hey, it was a nice thought.”

Chanyeol whines. “Listen, okay. I can’t help my love of chocolate.”

“I’m stealing some next time I come over.”

\--

When they arrive back at the lodge, Kyungsoo is absolutely ready to try again.

“That burger gave me my will to live back, Chanyeol,” he says, eyes wide.

“As well as your sense of humor,” Chanyeol laughs. “Which is good, because I missed it.”

“Fight me,” Kyungsoo says, personality fiery once again.

They pull on all their gear, and Chanyeol grabs his snowboard. Kyungsoo has to rent equipment again, but he’s practically bouncing the whole time.

“I’m only going to fall like twice this time, okay,” he says.

The journey up the chair lift is exhilarating. It’s actually starting to get a little warmer out, and Chanyeol thinks if he makes it to the park any time this afternoon, he may need to take his jacket off.

They reach the top of the hill, and Kyungsoo pauses for a moment after hopping off the ski lift to adjust his goggles. Chanyeol watches as he grips his ski poles tightly.

“Relax, Soo,” he says, checking to make sure he’s properly clipped in himself. “You don’t need to worry; even if you do fall, it’s not a big deal.”

“I want to prove that I can do this to myself,” Kyungsoo replies. He has that familiar serious set to his jaw, the one that Chanyeol admires so much. “I can get down the mountain without falling.”

Chanyeol chews on his lower lip. It seems like he’s setting himself up for disappointment, but when Kyungsoo is determined about something, he usually gets what he wants. So Chanyeol will believe in him, too. “Alright,” he says finally. “Just take it easy, nothing fancy.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Kyungsoo says with a short laugh. “Let’s go. I’m ready.”

“After you,” Chanyeol says with a grin, and Kyungsoo just takes off down the hill.

He does his best to stay behind Kyungsoo, partly to keep out of his way, partly so he won’t be a distraction, but also partly because Chanyeol is secretly a little proud. Learning to ski is easier when you’re a kid, so the fact that Kyungsoo is in his late twenties and can be this decent so fast is pretty impressive. Mind you, it’s nothing fancy, just the basics, but Kyungsoo is a fast learner.

Kyungsoo does end up falling. Another skier gets a little too close, and he’s forced to slow down suddenly, and he doesn’t have enough time to prevent himself from tumbling down. Chanyeol slows down and stops himself, and is there to offer Kyungsoo a hand to get up.

“Dammit,” Kyungsoo says, dusting off his gloves. But the determined set to his jaw is still there. “We’ll have to go down again. What an asshole.”

“I’d agree,” Chanyeol says, glancing down the hill in the direction of the wayward skier. Probably some teenager who thinks he’s hot shit; it usually is. “He should have apologized.”

Kyungsoo shrugs, and grips his ski poles a little tighter. “Nothing I can do but try again. I’ll get this; I was doing well before he made me stop.”

“You were,” Chanyeol agrees. “Does it help to have me behind you, instead of next to you? You seem more focused this way.”

Kyungsoo chews his upper lip. “I don’t really know. Maybe. Probably,” he says, and seems to make up his mind about something. “Look, why don’t you stay behind me until I get a run without any falls, and then once I do that, you can ski next to me?”

Chanyeol nods. “Sounds like a good plan,” he says, pivoting so he’s in the right orientation to go down. “You ready to go again?”

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo says, and glides off again. As Chanyeol follows, he observes: Kyungsoo’s technique has changed a little. Instead of attempting to constantly move his feet, he’s gliding a little more. This way, he isn’t going quite as fast, and he’s a lot more stable. It’s clear that the cross-country skiing this morning helped.

They make it down the rest of the mountain without falling again, although Chanyeol does almost eat shit attempting a turn that he’s not so good at. But that’s not the important thing here.

On the ski lift back up, Kyungsoo’s funny side starts coming out again. He’s doing a little dance in his seat, and Chanyeol is giggling.

“Gotta do it, gotta win!” he chants, and rocks back and forth. Consequentially, the chair rocks, and both of them grab the bar. “Oops,” Kyungsoo says, eyes wide. “I forgot that would happen.”

“How can you possibly forget?” Chanyeol laughs, a little wary. “We’re literally thirty feet in the air.”

“I don’t know,” Kyungsoo says with shrug of his shoulders. “It just kind of happened.” He taps his gloved fingers on the bar, and the plastic bit makes a soft clinking noise.

“Also, what did you mean by winning? This isn’t a competition, you know.”

“It’s a metaphor?” Kyungsoo says, gesturing. “Like, the point is to have some sort of goal.”

Chanyeol nods slowly. “Okay. Yeah, sure. You go win.”

“Make fun of me and I’ll slit your throat with my ski pole, Park, don’t think I won’t.”

Chanyeol laughs, and they get off the lift again. This time Kyungsoo calls out that he’s ready, and immediately starts down. Chanyeol quickly goes to follow him, because protection from other assholes, and all of that.

Kyungsoo starts out slow, but speeds up a little on the straightaways, and slows down a little near the curves. He seems calmer this round compared to the last one, which means he should be able to do it.

They have a couple close calls, but when they reach the bottom some time later, Kyungsoo hasn’t fallen once. He holds up his poles and whoops.

“Did you see that, Yeol?” he yells, doing his best to turn around. Chanyeol glides in just after, and just manages to avoid crashing into him.

“Hell yeah,” he yells back, before remembering there are probably children in the area. “You did great!” Pivoting over, he carefully nudges Kyungsoo’s skis out of the way, and wraps him up in a hug. “Seriously, I’m amazed. You were real rough yesterday, but you’re decent now.”

Kyungsoo pulls back from the hug a little. “Not good, or great?” he asks, eyebrows raised under his goggles. “I think I deserve a little more than decent.”

Chanyeol laughs. “You were perfect.”

“Whoa, not that far. I’m fine with good,” Kyungsoo says seriously, clearly joking. “Jeez, even I know I’m not perfect.”

“Isn’t perfection in the eye of the beholder?” Chanyeol asks, only half serious himself. “Anyway, do you want to go again?”

“Yes,” Kyungsoo says immediately. “I don’t care if I fall this time, though. I think I’m starting to get why you find this so fun.”

“Good,” Chanyeol replies, a smile spreading across his face. “I’ll start looking into gear when we get home, then. We’ll suck the California right out of you, just wait.”

Kyungsoo smirks. “I’d like to see you try to wrestle an avocado out of my hands,” he says, and glides away. Chanyeol follows, laughing.

\--

They go down the hill a total of four times before Kyungsoo proclaims that he’s too exhausted to do anything else.

“I need some goddamn hot chocolate and firm ground under my feet,” he says, bending over a little to stretch out his legs. Chanyeol does not stare at his ass, oh no he doesn’t. “You’re free do more if you want; don’t let me stop you, but I’m done for today.”

Chanyeol nods, then digs through his coat pockets for his phone. He checks the time, and glances up at the sky. “We still have a little daylight left, and I’m fine with boarding when it’s a little dark, so I’m going to head over to the park,” he says, zipping his phone back in its pocket. “Want to come watch me? I have to do a little showing off, you know, it’s kind of a requirement of coming here.”

Kyungsoo does an exaggerated eye roll as he bends down to unclip his skis. “Yeah, I guess I can come watch you show off,” he says, in his most sarcastic tone. “No, I’ll come. Just let me get my hot chocolate and warm up a little first. Are you sure you don’t want to warm up with me before you go to the park?”

Chanyeol shakes his head. “If I go inside, I won’t want to come back out,” he reasons, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets (a dangerous move, because if he falls he won’t be able to catch himself. Chanyeol has always liked living on the edge). “Plus, I need to practice a little before you show up. Even show-offs need to rehearse, you know,” he says with a wink.

“Oh, my god,” Kyungsoo groans. “Okay, I’ll leave you to it, then. I’m going to go turn these in,” he says holding up the skis and poles, “So I should be around half an hour. You better have a whole routine ready.”

“There’s a concept,” Chanyeol muses. “I’ll think about it. See you in a bit.”

“Mmhm,” Kyungsoo hums, and turns and walks away. Chanyeol unclips himself from his snowboard; it’ll be easier to just walk over to the park.

Upon arriving, he’s clipping back in when he hears someone call out his name.

“Chanyeol?”

He looks up. “Jongin! What’s up?” Chanyeol says with a grin. “You here with Taemin?”

Jongin nods, wandering over. He points in the direction of the half-pipe. “Yeah, he’s the one over there in the gray coat and blue hat, see?” It doesn’t take Chanyeol long to spot him. “We’ve been practicing stuff literally all afternoon.”

“Dedication,” Chanyeol remarks. “Taemin is looking pretty good.” He follows the man’s figure, watching as he manages to land a jump. “Have you improved as much as he has?”

“Maybe not quite that much,” Jongin says, grinning, “but then again he was better than me to start. We also have our friend Sehun, he works here and he’s been giving us real tips.”

Chanyeol pretends to be insulted. “Were my tips not helpful?” He frowns. “Wait, Sehun, where have I heard that name before?”

Jongin shrugs, messing with his gloves. “I dunno, dude, Sehun teaches the beginner lessons, though you don’t look like you need them.”

Beginner lessons... “Oh!” Chanyeol exclaims, pounding his fist into his palm. “I think my boyfriend took lessons with him yesterday! He’s coming to watch me in like half an hour.”

“Cool,” Jongin says, grinning. “You’re going to introduce us, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” Chanyeol says, then lifts his eyebrows. “You’re not going to try and hit on him, are you?”

Jongin shakes his head. “Nah, I’m straight. My friend, on the other hand--”

“Doesn’t need your help,” Taemin finishes, stopping right next to Jongin and making him pinwheel his arms to stay upright. “Stop trying to set him up. Hey, Chanyeol.”

“Hi,” Chanyeol says, giving a little wave. “How’re you?”

“Not bad,” Taemin says. “Jongin put snow down my pants earlier, so I’m still recovering from that, but otherwise I’m decent.”

“Only after you put snow down my jacket,” Jongin complains. “And my friend has said repeatedly that he wants a boyfriend, so I’m going to do my best to help him, okay?”

“Does he want our help?” Taemin asks skeptically. “I don’t want to interfere if he has something going.”

“I’m just trying to get him to meet people, you know,” Jongin replies. “He doesn’t have to go on a date with any of them, I just want him to have options.”

“Considerate,” Taemin says with a grunt. “Anyway, Chanyeol, is your boyfriend going to join us?”

“Yeah, he is, in a bit,” Chanyeol says with a nod. “He’s inside getting hot chocolate and warming up at the moment, but he said that he would come back out to watch me show off, so.”

Taemin snorts. “Nice one. I’m glad we get to meet him, though, from what you said yesterday he seems pretty cool.”

Another man glides over with an easy, loping grace that Chanyeol wishes he had. “Hey,” he says, crossing his arms. “Who is this?”

“This is Chanyeol,” Jongin supplies helpfully. “He’s pretty sure that you had his boyfriend in one of your beginner lessons yesterday.”

“Oh?” Sehun says, lifting an eyebrow.

“At least, I think I heard your name,” Chanyeol says with a shrug. “His name is Kyungsoo, on the shorter side, black coat, probably fell a lot.”

Sehun makes a face. “I don’t really remember, but I’m sure I’ll recognize him when I see him. I taught like five classes yesterday.”

“You get to ski for free, shut up,” Taemin says, slapping his ass. Sehun yelps and rubs the spot before swinging an arm in Taemin’s direction, causing him to lose his balance and fall. “Motherfucker, why is it always me who ends up ass in the snow?” he complains.

“Serves you right,” Sehun sniffs, and Jongin laughs. “Chanyeol, how good are you?”

Chanyeol snorts. “Better than these two, but probably not as good as you,” he says. “Speaking of which, I need to do a little practice before Kyungsoo arrives, because I promised him I’d show off.”

“I mean, you’re good,” Taemin says, finally hauling himself off the ground, “But I wouldn’t say you’re good enough to show off.”

Bringing a finger to his lips, Chanyeol shushes him. “Look, his inexperience is working to my advantage, okay?”

“Oh, good point.”

“Yeah, right?” Chanyeol grins. “I’m going to go mess around for a bit, if you guys want to join me, then.”

“Sure,” Jongin says. “I’m good to go.”

Chanyeol nods, and they make their way over to the first out of a series of jumps. Picking up speed, Chanyeol coasts over the first one, not attempting anything fancy, and lands perfectly. On the next, he tries a 180, but slips a little in the landing.

“Nice,” Jongin calls out. “C’mon, even I can do that one now.”

Chanyeol does his best to give him the finger while still wearing his gloves. “Listen, asshole, I’m sore as fuck from cross country this morning; give me a break, would you?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Jongin says, and lands his 180 perfectly. “I told you we’d catch up, though, and don’t deny that it’s happening sooner than you planned.”

“Don’t say that so fast,” Chanyeol gripes, and sails over the next jump, managing to turn a 360 and land cleanly. “Take that.”

“Ooh, scary,” Jongin laughs. “That’ll take me the rest of the season, though.”

“You both suck!” Sehun calls up from further up the hill. Chanyeol looks over, and watches as he pulls off a really impressive combo, and whoops upon landing.

\--

Twenty minutes later, Kyungsoo walks over the crest of the hill holding a capped paper cup in one hand. Chanyeol waves wildly, causing him to smile.

“Have you been practicing?” he says, as Chanyeol comes over. “You said you were going to show off, so you better be able to back up your claim.”

Jongin pulls up behind him, and sprays the back of Chanyeol’s legs with snow. “Chanyeol isn’t as good as he says he is,” he warns, grinning. “I’m Jongin, by the way. Chanyeol mentioned something about you knowing of Sehun?”

Kyungsoo blinks. “Hi. Yeah, Sehun was my skiing instructor yesterday. Do you know him?”

“Totally,” Jongin says enthusiastically. He turns toward the hill and calls out, “Taemin, Sehun, get over here!”

“Jongin and Taemin are the guys I mentioned that I met yesterday,” Chanyeol explains as the remaining two board over. “Apparently they’re good friends with Sehun.”

“Oh, yeah, you,” Sehun says, removing his goggles to get a better look at Kyungsoo. “You fell a bunch.”

Kyungsoo fixes him with what Chanyeol considers to be his deadliest glare. “How very kind of you to bring that up,” he says coldly. “I’m sure we’ll be the best of friends.”

Chanyeol does his best fake real laugh. “Kyungsoo, he’s just joking, lay off, haha,” he says, slinging an arm over his shoulders. He’s actually not sure if Kyungsoo is kidding or not. Sometimes it’s really hard to tell. Like the time Chanyeol burnt a steak. He still has nightmares about that once in a while.

“Right,” Kyungsoo says, shooting one last icy glare.

Sehun nods. “Yeah, I’m sure you got a lot better today,” he says cautiously, and Kyungsoo sniffs.

“Well, anyway,” Jongin says, clapping, “It’s nice to meet you, Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo’s face relaxes a little. “Yeah, you too. I’m excited to see Chanyeol try to show off, so.”

“I’ll get on that,” Chanyeol laughs, for real this time. “I’d say take a seat, but it would probably just make you colder.”

“Good point,” Kyungsoo says, and shifts his weight onto one hip. “I’ll just watch from here.”

Chanyeol waves, then pivots and glides down the hill. He picks up enough speed, then heads in the direction of the half pipe.

Half pipe has always been one of his favorites, and he practices in the summer sometimes on a skateboard to try and keep up his skills. He pulls off a couple jumps, doing an ollie on one and a turn on the other. As he comes off the end, he pulls from his small arsenal of butter turns. He’s pretty good at those, doing a bunch sequentially looks sort of cool.

After what he deems is a decent amount of time (only like ten minutes), he unclips his board and climbs back over to where Kyungsoo is watching and talking to Jongin.

“Jongin pointed out all the places where you messed up,” he says as Chanyeol arrives, “but I still think it was pretty cool,” he admits, grinning. “I sort of want to try, but I know I’d be bad at it.”

“You can try, if you want,” Chanyeol says, lifting his eyebrows. “We’ve still got tomorrow morning. I could teach you, because I’m a lot better at snowboarding. Yeah, the tricks are a little difficult, but just going down the hill isn’t too bad.”

Kyungsoo shrugs. “We’ll see if I’m in the mood,” he says, taking a sip out of his cup. “If I’m sore, I’m definitely not going to want to.”

His hat has caused his hair to stick out a little bit, so Chanyeol removes his gloves to take it off and fix it. “It’s up to you,” he says, combing out the strands. “Just know that it’s totally a possibility.”

“Shit, you guys are cute together,” Jongin says, leaning up against the wall of the water hut. “I need a girlfriend.”

“Jealous?” Chanyeol says, giving him a shit-eating grin.

“Maybe a little,” Jongin replies, crossing his arms. “I can see why you make a good couple.”

“Thank you?” Kyungsoo says, eyebrows raised. “Should I take that as a complement?”

Jongin shrugs. “I don’t know. Yes? Probably. I meant it as a complement.”

Something about the way Jongin treats them is different, Chanyeol realizes. And it’s definitely not the bad kind of different. He treats them like your average couple, which is what they are, really. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo are just another two people who happen to have feelings for each other. They don’t need someone reassuring them that their relationship is valid, and they certainly don’t need people questioning the validity of their relationship. The way he called them a cute couple, it was in a way you would say it to anybody, not just two gays that you’re trying to give support to. For once, Chanyeol feels like he’s not standing on a high wire, walking a narrow path about to fall off. Maybe it’s because of Jongin’s exposure to the gay friend that he mentioned, or maybe Jongin just knows how to treat people right. Whatever it is, Chanyeol admires him for it, even in the short time that he’s known the man. He’s glad he has his number.

“Jongin, where do you and Taemin live?” Chanyeol asks, changing the subject a little. “Are you from the area?”

“Nah,” Jongin says, shaking his head. “We just come here because Sehun works here, and the prices for the day aren’t bad. “We’re from Denver. How about you guys?”

“Same for us, actually,” Kyungsoo says, dusting snow off Chanyeol’s jacket. “Chanyeol dragged me here for the weekend because he says the hotel is nice.”

“He’s not wrong,” Jongin says, grinning. “I don’t make enough money to stay every time I come, so mostly we just crash at Sehun’s if we’re going to ski for more than one day, but we’ll get a room every now and then.”

“That’s pretty convenient,” Chanyeol comments. “But you’re from Denver, too. Neat.”

“Well, the suburbs,” Jongin amends, shrugging. “Taemin and I are roommates. Do you guys live in the city?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty close to the center, but Kyungsoo is a little closer to the airport,” Chanyeol says, stealing Kyungsoo’s cup for a sip. “Soo, this is getting cold. Hurry and finish it.”

“I’ll finish it in my own time, thank you,” Kyungsoo says with narrowed eyes, but smiles after anyway. “Do you go into the city often, then?” he asks Jongin.

Jongin nods. “Yeah, we have other friends we hang with on the weekends, plus I work downtown.”

“Makes sense,” Chanyeol says, handing Kyungsoo’s now chilly cocoa back. “We should get together some time, I feel like our friend groups would probably like each other. Plus, we do actually have some gay friends that might like your gay friend.”

“See!” Jongin exclaims, even though Taemin isn’t there for him to complain to. “Tae says not to try and hook him up, but honestly, aside from dating apps, friend of a friend of a friend is totally the best way to go.”

“Sure,” Kyungsoo says, chuckling quietly. He turns. “Yeol, do you want to board a little more, or should we go and eat?”

Chanyeol shrugs. “I could go for either, honestly. What do you want me to do?”

“Don’t put that kind of decision making on me,” Kyungsoo says, shaking his head. “Okay. Stay out here for another half hour, then meet me in the restaurant at nine, and we can eat.”

“Sure,” Chanyeol says, saluting. “That sounds good, because I’m quickly approaching my cold threshold.”

Kyungsoo grins, and pats his lower back. “Alright, you. Go have fun.” He turns and walks off, however not before disposing of his paper cup.

Chanyeol looks at Jongin. “What say you to having a race?” he says, and Jongin rubs his hands together.

“You’re fucking on, and you’re going to lose.”

\--

Chanyeol plops down on his chair across from Kyungsoo in the restaurant. He’s exhausted; Jongin, Taemin, and Sehun were even more reckless and competitive than he is. Honestly, he’s ready to go to bed.

“Did you have fun?” Kyungsoo asks, amused. “You look tired.”

“I am,” Chanyeol groans, stretching his legs out under the table. He nudges Kyungsoo’s foot on accident, and Kyungsoo nudges back. “We were racing, and Taemin was determined to beat me, which he did.”

“That’s unfortunate, but I’m sure you did your best.”

“You sound like my dad,” Chanyeol complains, straightening as their waiter comes over. “Don’t say it like that.”

Kyungsoo chuckles. “I can’t help it, you sound like a whiny seven-year-old.”

“Let me live,” Chanyeol grumbles, and gives his order to their waiter, who is eyeing them with clear amusement and is trying and failing to hold back a smile.

Kyungsoo orders as well, and they both fix their gazes outside. It’s dark, but because skiing is still open, there are lights trailing down the mountainside. It’s incredibly beautiful.

“I’m glad I decided to come,” Kyungsoo says suddenly, and coughs a little. “Sorry. Yeah. And after yesterday, I really wasn’t sure. But today made it better? And you, of course. You made it worth coming.”

“Thank you,” Chanyeol says simply. “That’s really all I wanted to get out of this. Also, I read some advice on the internet somewhere that said if you can survive a trip with your significant other, you have real staying power.”

Kyungsoo laughs. “I’m glad my relationship depends on the advice of someone on the internet; that makes me real happy,” he says, resting his elbows on the table. “Although, it does actually sound like a good indicator. If you can survive a vacation for a few days, where the only other person you know is your partner, then you might be able to survive living together or getting married or something,” he reasons.

Chanyeol bites down on the inside of his mouth, mind racing. He realizes the obvious implications of that sentence, but he’s not sure if Kyungsoo did it on purpose or not. So he’s just going to skirt around it, because they’ve only been dating for about eight months and it’s really not time to talk about marriage yet. That isn’t to say he couldn’t see himself getting married to Kyungsoo, because he can. It’s just not time yet. He’d like to wait another few years, or so.

Living together, on the other hand. That’s a concept. Chanyeol has thought about that, and it never really felt like the time to bring that up. And he still doesn’t think that now is the right time to talk about it, either. Not while they’re in public. Maybe when they’re at home, or something.

Realizing that he has taken too long to reply, Chanyeol scrambles. “Right, right. Kind of like a little test, to see if you can tolerate each other.”

“Which we kind of did, at my brother’s wedding,” Kyungsoo says, playing with his fork, “But that was only for a day, and I was busy for most of it.”

“Yeah, it was more of a meet-the-parents kind of situation,” Chanyeol says, grinning. “Text your mom that I said hi, by the way.”

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and pulls his phone out of his pocket. He clicks a few buttons, and slides it across the table towards Chanyeol. “Text her yourself, from your phone,” he says. Pulled up on the screen is Kyungsoo’s mother’s cell phone number. “I’m sure she’ll be glad to hear from you.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widen. Okay. He can work with this. Pulling out his own phone, he enters the contact details in and hits save. “I’ll text her tomorrow, then,” he says. “Thanks.”

“Well, seeing as I’ve had your mom’s phone number since about three months ago, I thought it was only apt,” Kyungsoo says, like this is a totally normal thing to say.

“Wait, you have my mom’s phone number?” Chanyeol asks, eyes widening further. “I did not know that.”

“How did you not know that? Have you met your mother, Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo asks, grinning. “I didn’t even say anything, she just took me aside while you were washing dishes and gave it to me, with instructions to call her if I was having trouble with you.”

“I’m going to call her and complain,” Chanyeol grumbles, but secretly he’s glad that his mother really likes Kyungsoo. His mother is important to him, and henceforth the relationship between her and Kyungsoo is also important to him.

“Don’t be an ass about it,” Kyungsoo advises.

“I won’t,” Chanyeol says. “I just can’t believe she didn’t tell me. She tells me everything.”

“Yeah, well,” Kyungsoo says shrugging, and then their food arrives.

\--

Chanyeol had made it a point to purposefully keep the portion he ate small, even though he had done a lot of physical activity. Because while he is tired, they haven’t exactly made use of their hotel bed to its fullest extent, yet.

As he opens the door to their room, Kyungsoo says, “Hey, want to light the fireplace? We have it, so we might as well.”

“Oh! Yeah, good idea. I think we just call the front desk, and then someone will come up and do it for us,” Chanyeol says, already making his way towards the phone. “You really want to?”

“Yes, definitely,” Kyungsoo says, and sits down on their bed. He stretches, and falls back. “Did you want to shower? I already did, while you were out.”

Chanyeol pauses where he’s dialing. It was subtle, but he thinks that might be Kyungsoo trying to initiate sex. Well. If he wants to play that game, Chanyeol is totally down. “Yeah, I’ll shower,” he says throatily. “Let me just call, first.”

“Mm,” Kyungsoo agrees, perusing the provided TV guide.

Whoever is at the front desk says they’ll send someone up right away, so Chanyeol hangs up and meanders over to his suitcase to grab fresh clothing. Or he could not, and just walk out of the bathroom naked. That would certainly get Kyungsoo in the mood, if he wasn’t already. Hmm.

He ends up taking clothing with him anyway, even though he’s certain he’ll be taking it off soon. Flipping on the fan in the bathroom, he puts all of his stuff on the counter, then turns around and eyes the toilet. Time for his favorite part of every day, cleaning out his lower intestine.

Once the water runs clear, he steps into the shower. Chanyeol knows people who skip it, but he always makes sure to finish off his douche job by giving his asshole a thorough cleaning in the shower as a precaution. He’s had a couple bad experiences before dating Kyungsoo that he really doesn’t want to repeat anytime soon.

That done, he washes his hair and the rest of himself fairly quickly, a little eager to start. Something about the anticipation manages to outweigh the tediousness of preparing himself. Shutting off the water, he slicks back his hair, and climbs out. Chanyeol dries himself off and slips into his sweats and socks, then towels his hair off again for good measure.

Exiting the bathroom, he’s met with the sight of Kyungsoo sitting cross-legged in front of a crackling fire. With the dim lighting, the atmosphere of the room is decently heavy. Chanyeol sits down next to Kyungsoo, and holds his hands out.

“Feels nice, huh?” Kyungsoo says, staring into the flames. “The guy got it going pretty quickly, I was impressed.”

“Well, I guess if he does it a lot, he’s had a lot of practice,” Chanyeol comments. At this point, words are coming out his mouth with little to no input from his brain.

“Good point,” Kyungsoo says, then stretches his arms over his head. “Damn, I’m going to be feeling this tomorrow. I’m so sore.”

“Too sore to fuck me?” Sure, that works. Good one, Chanyeol.

Kyungsoo looks over and lifts his eyebrows. “Is that something you want right now?” he asks, tapping a fingernail on the floor. “Because I think I could manage.”

“Good,” Chanyeol says, “Because I really want you to.”

“Sweetheart,” Kyungsoo chuckles, and crawls over to him, and joins their lips. “Do you want me to fuck you in front of the fireplace? Is that where this is leading?” he says, in between kisses. Chanyeol is absolutely enamored.

“I mean, that would be nice, yeah,” Chanyeol says, grinning. He loops his arms around Kyungsoo’s neck, pulling him in closer. “It would be romantic, right?”

Kyungsoo smiles back, rubbing a finger over Chanyeol’s cheekbone. “As long as no sparks land on my bare ass, yeah, I think it’ll be nice.” He tugs Chanyeol’s arms off, and stands up. Chanyeol makes an involuntary whimper, wanting Kyungsoo’s body heat back up against his. “I’ll be back in a second, sweetheart,” he says, “I need to get a pillow for your head, and I think a condom and some lube is in order, hmm?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Chanyeol says, sitting cross-legged. Kyungsoo thinks of everything. He’s never too hasty, and tries to put Chanyeol’s well-being before his own. It’s nice, being with someone who cares like this. Chanyeol’s previous boyfriends were nice, yeah, but Kyungsoo seems more genuine.

Kyungsoo returns with the pillow, and pushes Chanyeol down gently, tucking the pillow underneath his head. “Are you comfortable?” he asks, and Chanyeol wriggles around a little.

“Yeah, I’m good,” he replies, a little breathlessly. Kyungsoo’s hands trail up his thighs, and he leans in to kiss Chanyeol again. It’s slow and sweet, like kisses with Kyungsoo always are. And this time it tastes like hot chocolate, and Chanyeol is a little in heaven.

“Can I take off your pants,” Kyungsoo murmurs into his mouth. “I want to see your thighs, Yeollie.”

“Please,” Chanyeol says, and when Kyungsoo’s fingers hit his waistband, he lifts his hips to allow Kyungsoo to slide his pants off. Sitting up a little, Chanyeol tugs at the hem of Kyungsoo’s shirt. “Can you take this off?” he asks, and Kyungsoo nods.

“Of course,” Kyungsoo says, and quickly pulls his shirt over his head. “I think I’m going to keep my pants on, though; I’d rather have a layer of protection between my knees and the floor.”

“Understandable,” Chanyeol laughs, and bunches his sweatshirt up in his hands. He uses his sweater paws to pull Kyungsoo’s lips back to his own, and they lie there for a while, just kissing. But of course, Kyungsoo’s hands start wandering, and Chanyeol shivers as his fingers brush over the sensitive spots on his thighs. “Soo,” he moans quietly. “Please do something.”

“Sure, sweetheart,” Kyungsoo whispers, and drags his underwear down his thighs. Chanyeol shivers. Kyungsoo massages his hipbones, big eyes meeting Chanyeol’s. It’s almost funny, how Kyungsoo can overwhelm him so fast.

“Touch me?” Chanyeol whispers back. “Please.”

“Of course,” Kyungsoo says, and rejoins their lips. His hands dance up Chanyeol’s sides, tracing his ribs and causing Chanyeol’s cock to harden fully.

“More,” Chanyeol asks, trying to keep his voice steady. Which is difficult, seeing how much Kyungsoo affects him. “Finger me, please.”

Kyungsoo nods, and coating his fingers with a pump of lube from the bottle, he reaches in between Chanyeol’s legs. He traces Chanyeol’s hole, sending a shiver up his spine. “Did you finger yourself in the shower, sweetheart?”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol admits. “I was thinking of this, earlier. So I wanted to.”

“So thoughtful, Yeollie,” Kyungsoo murmurs, pressing a kiss underneath his jaw. “Just for me, too. Sweetheart.” He pushes two of his fingers in, and Chanyeol keens. “Shh, baby, you look so soft right now.”

“I really wanted this,” Chanyeol manages to get out, clutching at Kyungsoo’s biceps. “You’re so perfect; I can’t help it.”

Kyungsoo laughs quietly. “I’m not perfect, but I’m glad you think I am. Perfect for you, definitely.” He spreads his fingers to stretch Chanyeol further. “So good for me, sweetheart.”

“I love when you call me that,” Chanyeol gasps, trying to rut down. “Kyungsoo. Soo. I need you.” The emotion is swirling inside him. There’s really nowhere he’d rather be other than right here, with Kyungsoo’s skin practically adhered to his own.

“You have me, Yeollie,” Kyungsoo says with yet another kiss. “You always have me.”

Chanyeol smiles up at him. “Can’t I want more?”

“I guess,” Kyungsoo says, a tender expression on his face. “God, we’re saps, but that’s one of my favorite parts of you.”

Giggling, Chanyeol stretches up to kiss him. “You’d never admit that to someone else, would you?”

Kyungsoo pecks him back, and adds another finger. Chanyeol is almost ready, just a little longer. “Probably not, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true,” he says. He nudges up against Chanyeol’s prostate, prompting a whimper. “That good, baby?”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol says, his voice a little raspy. “Can you fuck me now?”

Kyungsoo smiles. “Of course I can.” He thrusts his fingers in a few more times before pulling them out and unzipping his pants with his clean hand. His pants and underwear get shuffled down to his thighs, and he jacks his own cock a few times with a fresh pump of lube before wiping his hand on his discarded shirt and rolling the condom on. “Hold your legs for me, sweetheart.”

Chanyeol bites down on his lower lip, and loops his arms around his knees. He’s still wearing his sweatshirt, but he feels exposed. The heat from the fireplace combined with the usual elevated heart rate from exertion is causing sweat to bead at his hairline, and down his back. He’ll have to take another shower after they’re done, but as long as it’s with Kyungsoo, he doesn’t really mind. “Please,” he asks, before Kyungsoo presses his legs further to his chest and lines up.

“Ready?” Kyungsoo asks, and Chanyeol nods. Kyungsoo pushes in, and Chanyeol arches at the sensation. He’s slow but relentless, and Chanyeol is very aware of his cock against his own belly. Releasing his legs, he wraps them around Kyungsoo’s torso, and weaves one hand into his hair.

He feels a nip at his neck, and chuckles, because Kyungsoo is biting him again. “Nice,” he says, and shifts. Kyungsoo’s cock moves inside him, and he hisses. “Fuck, that’s good.”

“Sorry,” Kyungsoo says, unashamed. “You look so good, I couldn’t help it.” He pushes up in tiny thrusts, and Chanyeol’s thighs twitch. “Are you ready?”

Chanyeol can feel the weight of Kyungsoo’s cock, stretching him open, but it doesn’t hurt. “Yeah,” he says, “Go for it. Fuck me, Soo.”

“Mm,” Kyungsoo hums, and starts out slow. Chanyeol’s heart rate picks up, and he breathes deeply. Kyungsoo’s lips are attached to his sternum where he can reach, seeing as Chanyeol still has his sweatshirt on. It’s wonderful, the sensation of Kyungsoo surrounding him everywhere.

Kyungsoo eventually speeds up, and they try to kiss but barely manage to succeed. Huffing, Kyungsoo moves back to his neck, and Chanyeol snickers, before Kyungsoo puts an end to that by thrusting hard. Chanyeol moans, and now it’s Kyungsoo’s turn to laugh.

“You’re wonderful, Yeollie,” he says, and reaches down to touch Chanyeol’s cock.

Chanyeol twitches. He’s been close for a while, and Kyungsoo’s ministrations are almost enough to put him over the edge. Clenching down, he tenses, and Kyungsoo groans and slows.

“You need to relax a little, sweetheart,” he grunts, “Or it’s going to hurt.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Chanyeol gasps, remembering and dropping the tension from his muscles. “You’re just amazing at this.”

“’Course I’m amazing,” Kyungsoo mutters. He starts jerking Chanyeol again, and he barely manages to remember to relax. “There you go, beautiful, come for me, please.”

Chanyeol arches and comes, turning his head to the side in attempts to do something to muffle the loud moan that comes out of his mouth. He can feel Kyungsoo’s eyes on him, and he basks in the adoration. Kyungsoo fucks him slowly through the rest of his orgasm, and then speeds up a little, enough to come himself. He collapses on top of Chanyeol, breathing heavily.

“Mm,” is all Chanyeol can get out at the moment.

Kyungsoo’s laughter is evident through the way his body shakes. “Yeah, me too. Bed?”

“Eventually,” Chanyeol says, locking his legs around Kyungsoo’s back.

They do eventually get to sleep, after a shower and some warm and fuzzy cuddling. The fire has died all the way out, but the room has retained the temperature, and Chanyeol drifts off cozy and satisfied with his boyfriend in his arms.

\--

“Can I try snowboarding?” Kyungsoo asks the next morning, after breakfast. “I do sort of want to. We don’t have to do it for long, seeing as we’ll be leaving after lunch.”

Chanyeol nods. They’re packing up their belongings before checkout time, so they don’t have to pay for another night, but also so they can split after they eat. As much as Chanyeol doesn’t want this weekend to end, they do both have work on Monday. “Sure. We’ll go to the Bunny Hill and I’ll show you some of the basics, or at least enough to get you down the hill a couple times. You’ll have to decide which one you like better, skiing or snowboarding.”

“I’m really not sure which one I’ll like more,” Kyungsoo says, methodically rolling his clothes up so they fit in his suitcase easier. “Please tell me snowboarding isn’t too hard. I’m very sore, and my knees ache.”

Chanyeol laughs. “Don’t worry, we’ll take it easy. My ass hurts, so I’m not really up to anything very athletic,” he says, and Kyungsoo grins.

“I’d say sorry, but I’m in enough pain on my own,” he comments, finishing up and zipping his suitcase. “Are you nearly done, or do you need my help?”

Looking around at the clothes still strewn over the bed, Chanyeol smiles sheepishly. “A little help, please?”

\--

It turns out that while Kyungsoo enjoys snowboarding, he likes skiing a little better. Chanyeol glances over at him, asleep with his cheek pressed against the car window. They spent almost four hours outside, full of giggling and pain-filled wincing. But it was fun, teaching Kyungsoo something that he’s good at. At least, a lot more fun than it would have been to just take lessons. He smiles fondly, remembering Kyungsoo’s yelp when he had first let go.

When they got to the car, Kyungsoo determined to drive home, Chanyeol had taken one look at his face before telling him that he was definitely too tired to drive. Kyungsoo had protested, naturally, but eventually tiredness won over, and Chanyeol had slipped behind the wheel of Kyungsoo’s (maybe a little bit too small for Chanyeol’s height) car. 

So here they were, driving back home, back through the mountains to the city. Chanyeol almost wishes Kyungsoo was still awake so he could take a look at the view, but he supposes that maybe they’ll just have to go skiing again. Winter has only begun, after all, and now they have new friends to go with.

Kyungsoo sniffles in his sleep, and Chanyeol smiles. Their trip had been his idea, obviously, but he didn’t think that it was going to go as well as it did. But all the problems they had, they dealt with themselves in a way that didn’t harm either one of them. They have a really good support system in place, Chanyeol realizes, speeding up to pass a truck. Which is good, because this means Chanyeol can go on dating Kyungsoo in good faith that their relationship could end up somewhere. He isn’t sure where, exactly, maybe in marriage, maybe in something else, but something good, to be sure

Speaking of which. If they can tolerate each other for three days, maybe they could tolerate each other for more. Like, for a while. What if they moved in together? Chanyeol goes weak just imagining waking up to Kyungsoo every morning, and cooking with him, and being able to kiss him whenever he wants.

Chanyeol grins. He’ll ask when Kyungsoo wakes up.

**Author's Note:**

> h i t h e r e b u d listen I know it's probably against fire code to have a fireplace inside a hotel room but we needed sex near fireplace so I had to sacrifice some things. how did i manage to stretch 3 days into 23k? i don't know but anyway i hoped you liked it and one more time happy birthday max :)


End file.
